A new investigatory news report out Tuesday find that long covid patient are travel overseas to try out high-priced and untested treatments for their symptoms , including have their origin trickle . But at least some experts are worried about the movement , cautioning that these treatments have no potent evidence supporting their claimed benefit .
Thereportis a joint collaboration between The BMJ and ITV News . The authors chaffer or interviewed patient role who went to clinics in Cyprus , Germany , and Switzerland hop to get hold aid for their mill about post - covid symptoms . These symptoms lean to include , but are n’t set to , unrelenting fatigue , breathing problems , and cognitive disfunction , or brain fog .
The basal treatment offered by these clinics is called aphaeresis . patient have their stemma drawn out , which is then “ washed ” and split into its different components of plasma and crimson blood line cadre . The rip is then recombined and in the end open back to patients via a different vein . The treatment supposedly work to alleviate one of the proposed cause of long covid : damaging microclots that form following infection .
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Other treatment provided at these clinic include anti - clotting drugs , intravenous drips of vitamin supplementation , and hyperbaric oxygen therapy . Doctors and patient interviewed by the generator say these treatment can be one thousand of dollars . Some patients do account an improvement in their symptom afterward . But at least one patient experienced no change at all after having spend over $ 50,000 USD on her treatment , the write up delineate .
There is some early evidence suggesting thatmicroclotscould be connect to long covid . There are also doctors and patient role within the long covid biotic community whoclaimthat apheresis can be an effective discussion for these clot or the hurt they cause . But microclots are n’t the only propose theory of how long covid happens , and it ’s probable that other mechanisms , such as persistent infection , could be important contributors as well . Beyond that , there ’s simply no strong data show that apheresis would even help those with microclots , outside of anecdotal accounts . It ’s possible , for instance , that microclots are merely a biomarker of the dysfunction due to other ingredient and that trying to eliminate them would n’t actually treat mass ’s underlying disease .
There areresearchersnow pass small trials of apheresis with their retentive covid patient . But as a ecumenical ruler , medical ethicists condemn the recitation of perform experimental treatments on patient outside of the context of a clinical trial . Oftentimes , unscrupulous clinics and doctors will prey on people with continuing unwellness by sellingtreatmentsat an exorbitant cost — a vogue that many experts have beenwarningcould become hackneyed in farseeing covid forget me drug as well .
“ It ’s unsurprising that multitude who were previously extremely functioning , who are now debilitate , ca n’t work , ca n’t financially corroborate themselves , would seek treatments elsewhere , ” Shamil Haroon , clinical lecturer in primary care at the University of Birmingham and a researcher on the Therapies for Long Covid in Non - hospitalised patients ( TLC ) tribulation , told The BMJ / ITV News . “ It ’s a completely rational reply to a post like this . But people could potentially go bankrupt accessing these treatments , for which there is limited to no evidence of effectiveness . ”
While there are several trials for long covid treatment underway or set to be conducted in the near hereafter , patient advocates have argued that not nearly enough resources have been devoted to helping people with these symptoms . And so long as these patient are left out in the cold , there will undoubtedly be mass look to take advantage of their despair .
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