THE H.E.L.P. APHERESIS COMMUNITY QUICK GUIDE/FAQ
1st Part of the Guide/FAQ (Video):
WATCH the International TV Broadcasts:
H.E.L.P. Apheresis for Long Covid | Post Vac Syndrome | MECFS | Chronical Illness (Media Reel excerpts)
2nd Part of the Guide/FAQ (Text):
READ the community quick guide below:
WHAT IT IS | HOW IT WORKS | WHERE TO GET IT (Simply click on a topic to open it)
H.E.L.P. Apheresis is an extracorporeal (outside the body) treatment to clean the blood from specific substances, also referred to as blood wash. H.E.L.P. stands for Heparin induced Extracorporeal LDL Precipitation, which means those substances (pathogens) are removed from the blood outside the patient's body in an apheresis machine by a process using heparin, which is known as precipitation.
Combination Therapy puts H.E.L.P. Apheresis at it's core and adds several treatments combined and at times at once, e.g. a physical treatment like H.E.L.P. combined with medications protocols to improve treatment result. In the field of HIV and cancer, combination therapy is one of the most successful forms of treatment and often the standard treatment.
The elements of Combination Therapy for Long Covid, Post Vac Syndrome and Chronic Illnesses are:
- H.E.L.P. Apheresis
- IV - Intravenous Treatments
- Medication Protocols
- Hyperbaric Oxygen / Cryo Therapy / Stellate Ganglion Blocks /Magnesium Oxygen Therapy / IVIG / mABs / Colon Hydrotherapy / MCAS Therapy
Symptoms the medication protocols focus on are:
- MCAS (mastcell activation syndrome), often combined with gastroparesis
- Viral persistence
- Persisting hyper coagulation
- Endothelial damage, often combined with hypercholesterolaemia
- Neuroinflammation/braininflammation
- Fatigue, PEM often combined with mitochondrial dysfunction
- Insomnia
- Induced anxiety/paranoia/depression
- Reactivated viruses
- Others
(Source: apheresiscenter.eu)
Here is our FAQ about Combination Therapy: Click here to see
Currently the Apheresis Center in Larnaca, Cyprus is the only clinic offering Combination Therapy. The new clinic in Bad Aibling, Germany is expected to offer parts of it too.
Specialised / Combination Therapy clinics:
Larnaca, Cyprus and Bad Aibling, Germany (in soft opening mode) are the two only Long Covid and Post Vac Syndrome specialised clinics. Larnaca offers Combination Therapy (Combined Therapy of H.E.L.P. Apheresis + IV treatments + Medication protocols + HBOT/Cryo therapies, IVIG and mABs).
They are built specifically for Long Covid, Post Vac Syndrome and Chronic Illnesses patients. In addition to specialised treatment they offer an optimized environment for Long Covid, Post Vac Syndrome and Chronic Illness patients with low light, low noise and separated resting areas to lie down.
Dialysis clinics:
All German and Swiss clinics are dialysis clinics treating dialyses and cholesterol patients. On top of those patients they are accepting H.E.L.P. Apheresis 'only' patients (for Long Covid/Post Vac, very limited capacities). These clinics are mostly suitable for patients which are not noise or sound sensitive and look for H.E.L.P. Apheresis treatment 'only'.
Our community maintains a list of clinics which offer H.E.L.P. Apheresis for Long Covid, Post Vac Syndrome and Chronic Illnesses click here to see clinic list
There have not been any succcessful RCTs (randomized studies with control groups) which looked at treatments for Long Covid. There are several ways though to validate a treatment's success rate. In the case of H.E.L.P. Apheresis the best data so far has been delivered by:
- ISFA World Congress (International Society for Apheresis) - Dr. Gunnar J. Bücker, Dr. Marcella Bürkner, Dr. Lutz Fricke and Prof. Christel Weiß presented their Help Apheresis for Long Covid treatment results during the congress: Comparison of symptoms before and after H.E.L.P. shows a significant and sustained alleviation of symptoms (p < 0,0001), the overall rating increased from a score of 2 (range 1 – 3) before apheresis to 3 (1-5) after apheresis and to 4 (1.2-5) currently and 83% of patients would recommend the treatment after they have been treated
Page 62_63 with relevant data
- Eureka Health Poll - 35.000 treatment reports for Long Covid. H.E.L.P. Apheresis came in 1st position of successful treatments that improved patrients significantly:
https://twitter.com/EurekaHealthApp/status/1638345659144347651?s=20
- Patient groups - over 75% of patients have benefited in various degrees in polls of patient groups like 'Larnaca Helpers' on Facebook
- Public polls (Dr Trent Garrison/LongCovidPharm) https://twitter.com/trentgarrison/status/1601743277346418688?s=20&t=nXvy6wU4sKKZ8cXlticO8Q
- Treating Doctors Socials - Dr Gunnar Bücker on his twitter channel reports success rates of 60-80% https://mobile.twitter.com/buckergunnar
- Treating doctors in the Media - Dr Ringel reports success rates of 70% in the media:
- Treating doctors in the Media - Dr Linkesch reports success rates of 90% in the media:
- Dr Beate Jaeger in her observations reports success rates of 70-90%:
and
A microclot test can currently not be used as a predictor for the exact treatment outcome, it is not a validated test yet. It is only done in three research laboratories worldwide (Mülheim, Johannesburg, Alabama) and is not available at clinics.
There is a Online Microclots Indications Test by Dr Aguirre-Chang and the Apheresis Center: https://apheresiscenter.eu/microclots-test
Please be aware that even though this indication test is negative, that does not mean that H.E.L.P. Apheresis is not indicated as it targets not only microclots.
Yes, on Long Covid Apheresis Med (lca-med.org) you find free resources and support by medical experts and medTec experts. Access is free, for medical professionals/doctors ONLY!
The patient gets connected (whilst resting in a bed chair) to the H.E.L.P. Apheresis machine with two tubes/needles that are placed in the surface veins of the right and left arm. The patient's blood is then gradually processed (2-3 times the total blood volume which takes around 2-3 hours) to clean it from pathogens, only about 300ml of blood at any given time is cleaned/processed inside the machine.
- H.E.L.P. Apheresis is performed automatically by the Plasmat® Futura machine by B.Braun by means of plasma modulation. Through plasma (yellowish liquid part of the blood that carries the blood cells and platelets) separation, the patient's plasma is separated from the other blood constituents.
- The separated plasma is mixed with an acetate buffer saturated with heparin. The degree of acidity of the plasma (pH) is thereby lowered to 5.12. At this value, LDL cholesterol, Lp(a), fibrinogen, clotting factors and the proinflammatory factors as well as viral spike protein, viral fragments and protein-based pathogens are selectively precipitated out of the plasma.
- Together with the heparin additive, the separated constituents form insoluble precipitates which can be removed from the plasma in a single filtration stage.
- The unused, excess heparin is then retained by an adsorber, and the physiological level of the purified plasma is restored by means of bicarbonate ultrafiltration.
- The selectively treated, purified plasma is then remixed with the remaining blood constituents and supplied back to the patient.
H.E.L.P. Apheresis is the only 5-step form of apheresis and is designed specifically to interfere with the coagulation system. It is actually picturing a live laboratory process in a closed automated machine-based process. This makes it unique whilst showing remarkable results.
H.E.L.P. Apheresis removes/adsorbs the following from the blood:
- LDL and Lp(a) cholesterol (improves endothelium function and fibrinolysis)
- Fibrinogen and other clotting factors and microclots (which increases the microcirculation by 20%)
- Inflammatory modulators/proteins like CRP, Cytokines and Chemokines (which reduces inflammation)
- SarsCov2 viruses and spike proteins/fragments (by binding to the heparin used)
- Autoantibodies after 5-6 H.E.L.P. Apheresis, some of the patients have lower titers of the increased autoantibodies, some autoantibodies were even negative (There are also patients in whom the autoantibodies are unchanged after , however, there is no clear connection between the reduction of autoantibodies and the improvement in symptoms)
- Protein based pathogens
You can read testimonial stories in the community facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/help_patient_testimonial/?__gid__=659008718403141
There are many on TV reports and other media as well: https://lcacommunity.org/media
Available sources report a success rate of 70-80% in average, in various levels, but the majority of our community members report they got a big part of their life back through the treatment:
- ISFA World Congress (International society for apheresis) - Dr. Gunnar J. Bücker, Dr. Marcella Bürkner, Dr. Lutz Fricke and Prof. Christel Weiß presented their Help Apheresis for Long Covid treatment results during the congress: Comparison of symptoms before and after HELP shows a significant and sustained alleviation of symptoms (p < 0,0001), the overall rating increased from a score of 2 (range 1 – 3) before apheresis to 3 (1-5) after apheresis and to 4 (1.2-5) currently and 83% of patients would recommend the treatment after they have been treated
Page 62_63 with relevant data
- Eureka Health Poll - 35.000 treatment reports for Long Covid. H.E.L.P. Apheresis came in 1st position of successful treatments that improved patrients significantly:
https://twitter.com/EurekaHealthApp/status/1638345659144347651?s=20
- Patient groups - over 75% of patients have benefited in various degrees in polls of patient groups like 'Larnaca Helpers' on Facebook
- Treating Doctors Socials - Dr Gunnar Bücker on his twitter channel reports success rates of 60-80% https://mobile.twitter.com/buckergunnar
- Treating doctors in the Media - Dr Ringel reports success rates of 70% in the media:
- Treating doctors in the Media - Dr Linkesch reports success rates of 90% in the media:
- Dr Beate Jaeger in her observations reports success rates of 70-90%:
and
There is no such thing as being 'eligible' for H.E.L.P. Apheresis. The studies of Prof Dr DB Kell and Prof Dr Resia Pretorius have shown that 100% of people with Long Covid/Post VacSyndrome have microclots and 80% of people with MECFS. But of course Help Apheresis targets not only microclots, but as written above targets other areas (pleiotropic effects) as well: 'Q: What exactly does H.E.L.P. Apheresis filter/adsorb?'
Kids and teenagers can be treated from 30kg body weight on (machines are licensed from 30kg upwards).
Simply sign up on our community list https://lcacommunity.org/community-list and receive the newsletter with available treatment slots and get free assistance and helpful information from our community volunteers. Or you can contact the clinics directly: List of Help Apheresis for Long Covid Clinics
In Europe: Cyprus, Germany and Switzerland. There are no clinics in the US, UK, Australia, Africa, Asia and South America. Find the full list of clinics list of clinics here
Currently only the clinic in Cyprus is a specialised clinic for Long Covid, Post Vac and CI offering Combination Therapy. Another specialised clinic, Bad Aibling is in soft opening mode. The other listed clinics are dialysis clinics accepting patients for H.E.L.P. apheresis treatment only.
The price for a full treatment course of 3-5 weeks incl. accommodation/transport/5x H.E.L.P. Apheresis treatments/laboratory costs are in average:
Cyprus: 9.500 Euros
Germany: 13.000 Euros
Switzerland: 15.000 Euros
South Germany (Bavaria -Bad Aibling): 18.000 Euros
Prices of a single H.E.L.P. Apheresis treatment vary between 1685 Euros (Cyprus) and 2000 Euros (Switzerland) up to 1500-2800 Euros (Germany). The prices result from the 30kg one-use parts (pipes, filters, adsorbers, liquids). Compared to other forms of apheresis H.E.L.P. Apheresis is in the lower middle price range. Laboratory costs are approximately 280 Euros in Cyprus, 600-1000 Euros in Germany and 1500 Euros in Switzerland. German clinics charge additional fees for doctor's appointments and prescriptions.
Every patient and the presenting symptoms differ. The average treatment number our community members and testimonials reported are 4-6 treatments. The patient decides when she/he feels to have reached the maximum treatment effect as there are no biomarkers dicovered by researchers yet to predict the exact treatment outcome.
We list here only the most often reported symptoms to have resolved/improved (for a full list search our Facebook group):
- Shortness of breath
- Tight chest
- Blood circulation issues
- MCAS symptoms
- POTS/Dysautonomia
- Gut and stomach issues
- Brainfog
- Depression/Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- PEM
- Muscle&Joint pain
- Nerve pain/Neurological issues
- Skin issues
Every medical treatment carries risks, but H.E.L.P. Apheresis is a safe and minimal invasive treatment that has been carried out since over 30 years. In over 500.000 treatments (of which 200.000 were accompanied scientifically) not a single person had severe complications. Rare side effects include temporary and short-term change of blood pressure and or dizziness. For patients that are heavily fatigued in very rare cases temporary relapses/crashes (PEM/PESE) have been reported. Non of the heparin ends up in the patients body/blood - it is all filtered before the cleaned blood is returned, hence MCAS is no counterindication.
We have listed all important and related studies here: click here to see and added publicly available information from respected sources.
There have been done several case studies on H.E.L.P. Apheresis for Long Covid.
Additionally the other following studies viewed as a whole show that the microcirculation issues and inflammatory molecules, as well as Sarcov2 spike protein at the core of Long Covid are addressed by H.E.L.P. Apheresis (as microcirculation issues are an official indication of H.E.L.P. Apheresis (click here to see), as well as the reduction of inflammatory modulators):
Springer - A practical approach for the treatment of post-COVID symptoms
Frontiers The Potential of H.E.L.P Apheresis for Patients with Severe Acute or Chronic Covid-19
Other related studies:
H.E.L.P Apheresis - Consistent Lowering of Clotting Factors Jaeger
Sustained VWF‐ADAMTS‐13 axis imbalance and endotheliopathy in Long Covid
Persistent capillary rarefication in Long Covid syndrome
Increased levels of inflammatory molecules in blood of Long COVID
The binding of heparin to SarsCov2
Several private insurances in the EU have started to cover the treatment, but public insurances do not cover it yet.
We have listed a comparison of apheresis types used here: Types of Apheresis
The second form of apheresis which we hoped to show results similar to H.E.L.P. apheresis has unfortunately not shown any, a study found it to be ineffective: Immune adsorption for the treatment of fatigue-dominant long-/post-COVID syndrome (29.03.2023) (aerzteblatt.de)
The treating doctors, testimonials and our community members have reported most results to be permanent, first treatments were done in February 2021.
ALWAYS book wheelchair assisted travel and oxygen on board, both are free of charge. That way you and luggage are fully taken care of from departing airport door to arrival airport door and the oxygen on board helps to ease travel (it makes up very well for our low energy/small energy envelope). Business class (reclinable seats) helped many to ease the travel even more.
We strongly recommend travelling with a carer or family member if possible.
Ensure (several) buffer days on either end of treatment if possible.
Some clinics (like Cyprus) offer special and professional travel assistance - from booking to assisted travel to personal assistance, to keep the trip stressfree and easy.
1) Treat early: Best results have been reported with early treatment - later treatment does work too, but results are often not as fast/complete
2) Treatment course: If possible, do what those with good success and recovery stories did: A minimum of 4-6 treatments over 3-5 weeks
3) Pace, pace and pace again during and after the treatment - don't risk to lose results by excessing your energy envelope
4) Combination Therapy - H.E.L.P. Apheresis combined with treatments like IV treatments, Antiviral and Anticoagulation or other Medication Protocols, HBOT or Cryo, has improved results of many community members substantially.
5) Reduce unnecessary medication and supplements to reduce the burden on your system - but keep those that show results
Guide and FAQ for Combination Therapy (incl. HELP APHERESIS)
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