A doctor from Mülheim an der Ruhr is having success with blood washing therapy in the treatment of long-Covid patients – but health insurance companies do not cover the treatment.
Mülheim an der Ruhr – Around every tenth person suffering from corona suffers from long-term consequences. According to a study by the University of Tübingen, 46 percent of the corona patients treated on an outpatient basis in the hospital still suffer from the consequences twelve weeks after the infection. But a new blood washing therapy should now bring help.
Corona: This is how blood washing therapy works against “Long Covid” consequences
Long-Covid sufferers suffer from shortness of breath, tiredness, fatigue syndrome, memory disorders or mental problems for weeks or months after a corona infection. Muscle weakness, heart muscle inflammation, diabetes mellitus or thromboembolism can also be long-term consequences of corona disease. Researchers from the University of Oxford also found that Long Covid can promote the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, as explained in the video:
In Mülheim an der Ruhr, a new therapy method against Long Covid is said to have been found. In the practice of internist Beate Jäger, a machine washes the patient’s blood and frees it from spike proteins and blood clots. It is then pumped back into the patient’s body. After just two or three treatments, those affected who suffer from Long Covid should feel significantly better, like RTL reported.
The procedure that Jäger uses is called HELP apheresis. “Apheresis essentially means separating plasma from blood cells in order to remove pathogenic substances from the blood in the treatment of chronic metabolic diseases,” explains the doctor on her website. “Where HELP stands for heparin-induced extracorporeal lipoprotein/fibrinogen precipitation.” The process consists of four steps: plasma separation, precipitation followed by filtration, heparin adsorption and ultrafiltration. The internist has been treating patients with metabolic diseases with the machine since 1985.
Corona: This is why the new long-Covid healing method is not recognized by health insurance companies
Jäger has already treated 250 long-Covid patients, and another 7,000 people are on their waiting list. But the therapy method of the doctor from Mülheim an der Ruhr is not yet recognized by health insurance companies, the treatment costs of around 1000 euros per session have to be paid by the patients themselves. The reason is the lack of studies on the subject. In order for the health insurance companies to cover the costs, the usefulness of the therapy must be scientifically proven.
Apheresis has also been used for years in patients at high risk of heart attacks or strokes. In these cases, it may be that the health insurance covers the costs, here there is a case-by-case decision. “When all other measures have been exhausted, a positive decision is usually made,” explains the specialist in internal medicine and nephrology and head of the Diamedikum Potsdam, Jens Ringel Focus Online. It is therefore quite possible that long-Covid patients will also be paid for the therapy in the future, provided studies can prove the effectiveness of apheresis therapy in the long-term effects of corona.
“There is a good chance that we will establish a possible healing option for Long Covid,” explains the specialist in respiratory diseases, Jördis Frommhold RTL. However, she complements opposite Spiegel.de: “We need scientific studies that examine whether the procedures actually help, so that they can be made accessible to the general public.” There is a lot of hype about all these therapeutic procedures, many believe in miracle cures. But it’s not quite that simple.
Long Covid: This is the best precaution against long-term corona effects
The specialist for respiratory diseases advises not to rush into normal everyday life after a corona disease: “You can counteract long-term consequences if you pay attention to your body and give it a chance to heal properly. But that’s quite difficult in our society, because we’re so geared towards performance,” Frommhold said Spiegel.de.
But the best precaution against corona long-term consequences is still the corona vaccination. It not only reduces the risk of serious illness and curbs the corona pandemic. A study from Israel has now shown that a double vaccination reduces the risk of long-term corona effects by up to 68 percent.
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