The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has devastated populations worldwide, with over 651 million confirmed cases. Long COVID, generally defined as persisting clinical symptoms for 3 months or longer following the SARS-CoV-2 infection, affects multiple organs/systems. Based on a conservative estimate that 10% of infected individuals develop the condition, at least 65 million people globally are living with long COVID. Many patients experienced severe, multisystem symptoms -including persistent fatigue, brain fog, high sensitivity to light and sound, loss of smell and taste, and various autonomic dysfunctions – that significantly impair their qualities of life. One prospective study of low-risk individuals, accessing the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas and spleen, noted that 70% of 201 patients exhibited damage to at least one organ and 29% had multiorgan involvements. Currently, long COVID cares are mainly symptomatic managements with supportive approaches, with no validated effective treatments available.  

COVID-19 has proved fatal to countless people with a compromised immune system. Clinical studies have demonstrated that long COVID patients exhibited significantly increases in the number of non-conventional monocytes (CD14^lowCD16^high), activated B cells, exhausted T cells, along with elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1b and IL-6). Further investigations have identified high levels of autoantibodies (AutoAbs) in long COVID subjects. A particularly high prevalence of AutoAbs against immunomodulatory proteins (e.g., cytokines, chemokines, complement components, and cell surface proteins) were also detected. Collectively, these findings indicate that long COVID subjects characterized by multiple immune dysfunctions and shares key features with autoimmune diseases.  

Similar to the principle mechanisms in treating autoimmune diseases, Stem Cell Educator Therapy aims to reset and strengthen the compromised immune systems and thereby reducing the high mortality rate among severe COVID-19 patients.

The infection of SARS-CoV-2 virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic involves multiple immune cells including T cells, B cells, monocytes, and macrophages. Conveniently, Stem Cell Educator Therapy has demonstrated its ability to correct multiple immune dysfunctions among these immune cells. Our current clinical trial is treating long COVID-19 patients, aiming to correct the systemic inflammatory responses and their functional defects.