USA: InCellDx Dr Patterson - New lab service offering cytokine tests to Covid longhaulers

This US lab service claims to have great success diagnosing long covid patients and successfully treating them. They offer a lab assay of interleukins and cytokines. It’s not clear which are offered. The literature is not yet published.

https://covidlonghaulers.com/

interview with the founder of company.
https://twitter.com/user/status/1389834002387853314


Evidence linked to on site is a medium article and an unpublished paper.
https://covidlonghaulers.com/wp-con...al-Disturbance-in-Long-Haulers-12-22-2020.pdf

https://covidlonghaulers.com/wp-con...Decoded-Using-Machine-Learning-12-22-2020.pdf

 

This looks highly suspect (and I'm not just talking about the website's aesthetics / design). The Myhill mitochrondia test comes to mind....

 

Yes.. My recollection from ME researchers who study immune system is that cytokines fluctuate greatly based on time of day, or subject activities, or medications, and therefore make poor diagnostics. Is that correct?

 

I'm not an expert but I think you might be correct.

 

There's a lot of scepticism about this group among LC patients. They've been making big promises (eg, announcing that they'd found the cause and cure for LongCovid in 2020) and delivering little.

 

Oh good. I got the opposite impression on Twitter, that they were believing them, which was worrisome.

 

This team has been making those claims for months. I think their enthusiasm level is much higher than their results are.

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1417656045745307654

 

https://www.biospace.com/article/re...agonist-in-a-covid-19-phase-2-clinical-trial/

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1417668452756582400


https://twitter.com/user/status/1417900041683959813


@Jonathan Edwards Any thoughts on whether maraviroc might possibly help pemecfs?

 

https://www.eatthis.com/news-long-covid-cure-doctor-patterson/



Doctor Says These Existing Drugs Can Help Long COVID

 

I cannot see any point in following empty marketing like this. When there is some science I will take a look.

 

OK but this is going to continue to ramp up—looks like he is selling it in your country now…


https://twitter.com/user/status/1418760562763309058

 

It will only ramp up if people give it attention - so why give it exposure?

 

I may be late to the game with this convo - but don't you think at least with Dr. Patterson's background, he deserves some benefit of the doubt before we label him snake-oil, no?

Maybe it's my blinders on, but I can't imagine the former Medical Director of Diagnostic Virology at Stanford University Hospitals and Clinics to be propagating false narratives to drive a bottom-line.

 

There is never any room for 'benefit of the doubt' in science. So much work in science is flawed by poor methodology and over enthusiasm. Unless you assume that work may be hyped before you read you will find yourself taken in by all sorts of empty stuff.

But generally it is not too difficult to identify the good work - it gives you hard data upfront and draws modest conclusions. And good scientists don't tweet to market their work. People like Fluge and Mella deliberately discouraged people from using their proposed treatment before it was properly tested.

I don't think having been part of a university hospital is any guarantee against becoming a snake oil merchant.

 

Does anyone has access to this article? Thanks.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1429579894455865350

 

Am I allowed to post it? It's an opinion piece, I don't know why it would be behind a paywall.... (edit: to clarify, I clicked it and there is no paywall for me, and I am not a subscriber.)