Description du projet
Traiter la COVID longue en suivant une thérapie UVB
Alors que le nombre de cas de COVID-19 augmente, de nombreux patients souffrent d’une COVID longue, c’est-à-dire que les symptômes persistent pendant des semaines, voire des mois, après la guérison initiale. Parmi ces symptômes figurent la perte de poids, des douleurs thoraciques, des troubles de la mémoire et de l’essoufflement, qui touchent environ 36,55 % des survivants. Dans le monde, 157 millions d’adultes seraient aux prises avec cette maladie. Malgré son impact généralisé, il n’existe actuellement aucun traitement efficace. Le projet longCOVID-UVBtherapy, financé par le CER, vise à combler cette lacune en testant la photothérapie UVB en tant que traitement. Cette approche modifie les réponses immunitaires pour contrer les effets inflammatoires de la COVID-19 et pourrait soulager différents symptômes liés à une COVID longue. Des essais cliniques permettront de valider son efficacité, afin de la rendre largement accessible dans les cliniques de photothérapie existantes.
Objectif
As the number of COVID-19 cases grows worldwide, so does the number of those suffering from clinical parameters that last weeks to-months post initial recovery, termed long-COVID, with as much as 36.55% of survivors exhibiting long-lasting symptoms (e.g. weight loss, chest pain, cognitive and memory disorders, breathlessness) according to recent studies—an estimated ~157 million long-COVID adult patients worldwide to date. Clearly, this growing health problem represents a modern global medical challenge. This challenge is compounded by a knowledge gap regarding the causes and prevalence of long-COVID, leaving no effective treatments. As noted by The Lancet: “The scientific and medical communities must collaborate … and find effective treatments”. Based on findings from my ERC grant, supported by other COVID-related reports, I propose to validate a UVB radiation (phototherapy) protocol for the treatment of long-COVID patients. Our findings indicate that phototherapy induces an immunological shift that counters that of the COVID phenotype: from T helper (Th) 1 cells, which stimulate inflammation and cell-mediated immunity, to Th2 cells, which promote humoral immunity. Phototherapy is also expected to address a range of reported respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, endocrine and metabolic long-COVID symptoms. Our PoC entails both validating via a clinical trial the proposed treatment, through a strong collaborative framework with Maccabi Healthcare Services, Israel’s second largest HMO, and conducting pre-commercialization steps to enable quick, easy dissemination on the global stage. Taken together, our value proposition is an effective, non-invasive, simple long-COVID treatment that can be implemented through already established phototherapy clinics worldwide, thereby offering immediate relief to long-COVID patients while simultaneously reducing the health and financial burden of severely overburdened health systems.
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Appel à propositions
(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) ERC-2022-POC2
Voir d’autres projets de cet appelRégime de financement
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept GrantsInstitution d’accueil
69978 Tel Aviv
Israël