'Long Covid Research Initiative' and Polybio funded to research viral persistence and antiviral treatments

One of the principal funding backers tweets. This is Vitalik Buterin, one of the founders of the Ethereum crypto-currency (#2 to Bitcoin I believe). He has 4.2 million followers on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1567908561073897472

 

Merged thread

Dr. Amy Proal, Ph.D - Transforming Diagnosis & Treatment Of Complex Chronic Inflammatory Conditions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkZBXCFqRts

 

Thread of LongCovid Research Consortium (LCRC) projects.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1645800172084158469

 

I'm especially interested in the imaging-related projects —

• Use of total-body PET imaging to identify deep-tissue SARS-CoV-2 viral reservoirs and T cell responses in patients with Long COVID
• Evaluation of tissue fibrin accumulation and perfusion in Long COVID, via Fibrin-PET imaging & peripheral blood analysis
• Innate neuroimmunity and cognitive function in Long COVID
• Ultrahigh resolution 7-Tesla imaging of structural abnormalities, cerebrospinal fluid flow, and other symptom mechanisms in patients with infection-associated chronic disease

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1709700433315328109


Confirmed by leading Long Covid researcher @microbeminded2: 1. Long Covid is new & novel 2. Long Covid’s major driver & area of research: SARS persistence 3. ME & LC are not =. Both can be viral persistence, origins/pathogen activity biologically different

Evidence for this Amy Proal claim?

“Leading Long Covid researcher” who has no lab and no academic affiliation.

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1719695012835770565


15 million to Polybio. IMO this will be a waste.

“The focus will be the continued study and treatment of #SARS-CoV-2 persistence as a driver of LongCovid.”

For which there is no convincing evidence…..

 

BS from AP. She knows the mechanism!! Prey tell.

"Mechanisms underlying Long COVID are not a mystery," says Dr. Amy Proal PhD, PolyBio's Chief Scientific Officer. "The persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in tissue is a major target for rapid #research and clinical trials."

 

OMG 15 million. god these scientists are onto a good thing. In my next life I will become a scientist not a concert pianist (maybe not as I like being a concert pianist lol)

 

Happy about this actually. I do feel they might be on to something and their researchers will at least do their due diligence.

 

Maybe someone has a clever question or 2 for Amy Proal that they want to ask.

“What would you ask Dr. Amy Proal about Long COVID research?”

www.twitter.com/dsethlewis/status/1720576399528886307
www.reddit.com/r/covidlonghaulers/comments/17ndh79/what_would_you_ask_dr_amy_proal_about_long_covid/

 

Total-body PET imaging to identify deep-tissue SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs in Long COVID

"This study is the first in the world using advanced imaging technologies to identify deep tissue SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs in Long Covid study participants.

Specifically the team is using longitudinal ImmunoPET-CT imaging of radiolabeled SARS-CoV-2-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to identify SARS-CoV-2 tissue reservoirs in individuals with Long COVID.

Tissue biopsy samples from the lymph node and gut are also being collected from Long COVID study participants undergoing imaging. These tissue samples are being analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, spike, and nucleocapsid proteins, other chronic viruses (e.g., Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus), and cellular immune responses. Data collected on the tissue samples will be correlated with the imaging data, so that potential viral reservoirs in study participants can be validated by overlapping methods."

"In this project, the team is taking a monoclonal antibody (a medication that specifically targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein wherever it might be in the body) and “tagging” it with a tiny amount of radioactivity (called radiotracers). They then safely inject the tagged monoclonal antibody into participants with Long COVID. The tagged monoclonal antibody diffuses throughout the participants’ bodies, and if it encounters the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, it will selectively bind it. Wherever this binding occurs its tagged radiotracer will become trapped and rapidly decay. This can be detected in 3-dimensions by the PET scanner’s ultra-sensitive camera. The PET scanner camera documents the location of these tagged antibodies, which can be used to infer the location of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the patients’ tissue. In other words, the PET scanner is able to triangulate the specific location of any SARS-CoV-2 viral reservoir sites within the body."

Discussion on Phoenix Rising