Long COVID Research
by Stellenbosch University SA Foundation UK
£570.00
raised by 15 donations
of £10,000.00 Target Goal
6%
The Story
Post Acute Covid Syndrome, or Long Covid, is a devastating illness estimated to affect over 100mln people worldwide, or 10%-30% of those infected with covid. It is not just a slow recovery from an acute Covid infection but in many cases an entirely new illness with a host of debilitating symptoms.
Long Covid sufferers need urgent help before it’s too late. The longer their suffering goes on, the more chance their illness will become irreversible. So far, there is no approved or widely known effective treatment. Patients are left alone and isolated, fighting for their lives while the medical community sits on the fence, unable to act.
But there is hope. Prof. Pretorius, from Stellenbosch University SA, has discovered the presence of small micro clots in the blood of patients. In a recent study, 70/70 people showed evidence of micro clots under a fluorescence microscope. This could prove to be the first definitive and detectable biomarker of Long Covid and even ME.
But we need to understand the interplay between micro thrombosis and the human body.
This £10,000 will help Prof. Pretorius and her team understand how the plasma proteins move around the body and interact with water and fat in circulation.
We need £2,000 to buy fluorescent markers which help visualise how inflammatory molecules interact with the clots. A further £8,000 is needed to analyse the biochemistry of the clot and measure how it moves around the body.
This is crucial research that could improve recovery outcomes and help millions of people see an end to this awful illness.
Your donation - no matter how small - could help a friend, a family member or neighbour recover from Long Covid and even pre-Covid ME. Please donate today and share with others to help the team kickstart this project as soon as possible.
You can read further about Prof. Resia Pretorius at resiapretorius.net.
What we have discovered already:
During 2021, the research group found that blood samples of patients with Long COVID contain numerous circulating microclots. These microclots may block small blood vessels, called capillaries. They may also prevent oxygen from traveling efficiently to the cells of the body. Blocking small blood vessels or interfering with oxygen delivery to cells, can result in wide-spread cellular hypoxia, or a shortness of oxygen in the muscles, the organs and even the brain. Hypoxia may explain many of the symptoms that Long COVID patients suffer from. These microclots ALSO entrap many of the inflammatory molecules that can cause Long COVID. When regular pathology tests are done on blood samples from patients with Long COVID, the tests may come back within the normal (healthy) ranges. The reasons for this is that the tests are done using the soluble part of the plasma. These pathology tests therefore miss the inflammatory molecule load in the blood sample, as the inflammatory molecule content of the microclots are not measured. We have also proven that various inflammatory molecules are entrapped inside these microclots. They might prevent the clots to break down effectively. We used an advanced biochemical research method called proteomics do find out which inflammatory molecules are present in the microclots.
"Long Covid-19 Foundation (UK registered charity. 1193939) supports the research in the area of Long Covid to advance knowledge and expertise in blood coagulation and micro clot formation for the benefits Long Covid sufferers".
Stellenbosch University SA Foundation UK
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”- Nelson Mandela, awarded an honorary doctorate by Stellenbosch University, 1996.
In 2004, Mr. William Frankel OBE, a friend of the university, established the Stellenbosch University SA Foundation UK as a registered charity in the United Kingdom. To create an avenue where friends, as well as alumni, could donate to the furthering and advancement of education in South Africa through Stellenbosch University.
The charity is registered with the Charities Commission.
The success of a university depends greatly on the participation of its alumni and friends.
The Stellenbosch University Foundation allows for alumni and friends of the university, based outside of South Africa, to financially support the many projects that enhance the educational offering at Stellenbosch University.
Remain connected, be involved and help to make a change in future Maties, in South Africa, in Africa and the world!
About Stellenbosch University:
Stellenbosch University (SU) is home to an academic community of 29 000 students (including 4 000 foreign students from 100 countries) as well as 3 000 permanent staff members (including 1 000 academics) on five campuses. The historical oak-lined university town amongst the Boland Mountains in the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa, creates a unique campus atmosphere, which attracts local and foreign students alike. On the main campus, paved walkways wind between campus buildings – some dating from previous centuries; others just a few years old. Architecture from various eras attests to the sound academic foundation and establishment of an institution of excellence. This, together with the scenic beauty of the area; state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly facilities and technology, as well as visionary thinking about the creation of a sustainable 21st-century institution, makes for the unique character of Stellenbosch University.
The University is amongst South Africa's leading tertiary institutions based on research output, student pass rates and rated scientists, and is recognised internationally as an academic institution of excellence. It boasts the highest weighted research output per full-time academic staff member of all South African universities and the second-highest number of scientists in South Africa who have been rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF). It also has the highest student success rate in the country.
SU is cementing its reputation as a world-class institution. According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, SU is one of the top 300 universities in the world, and among the top 20 in BRICS countries.
With 18 research chairs under the NRF South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChi), the University is regarded as a leader in the fields of biomedical tuberculosis research and management, wine biotechnology, animal sciences and mathematical biosciences. Another SARChi chair, in the field of invasion biology, is shared between SU and the University of Venda. This constitutes but one of SU's many partnerships, both local and international. As a preferred research partner, SU also participates in various international academic networks.
SU has ten faculties: AgriSciences, Economic and Management Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Engineering, Military Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Science, Education, Law and Theology.
Edward donated £20.00 on 2022/4/9 at 19:33.