Preliminary studies indicate that SARS-CoV-2 enters its host cell by binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor ^[1,2,3], an enzyme attached to the outer surface (cell membranes) of cells found in the lungs, arteries, heart, liver, kidneys and intestines ^[4,5]. While it primarily targets cells in the lungs, the resulting in a lack of oxygen and widespread inflammation goes on to cause damage to the kidneys, liver, heart, brain, and other organs ^[6,7].

The presently approved treatments are supportive but not curative for the disease. The cure for COVID-19 is essentially dependent on the patient's own immune system. When the immune system is over-activated in an attempt to kill the virus, this can lead to the production of a large number of inflammatory factors, resulting in a severe case of Cytokine Storm Syndrome.

Predictors of fatality from 3 recent retrospective, multi-centre studies of a combined total of 324 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wuhan, China suggest that mortality might also be due to virally driven hyper-inflammation or what is called a ‘cytokine storm syndrome’ ^[8,9,16]. As such, to date, Covid-19 has resulted in 549,735 deaths and 6,598,230 recoveries worldwide. However, beating the virus is just the beginning.

A collaborative study between the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Tongji Medical College, Wuhan Metware Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital examined the blood test results of 34 COVID-19 patients over the course of their hospitalisation. In those who survived, mild and severe cases alike, researchers found that many of the biological measures had “failed to return to normal” post-recovery. ^[10]

Since then, numerous early-stage studies and medical directors have suggested that the long-term effects of the virus may result in:

• Permanent lung damage and fibrosis/lesions ^{[11,12,13,14,15,16]}.
• Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) ^[16,17,18].
• Acute cardiac injury/failure and myocarditis ^[16,17,19].
• Hypoproteinaemia as a result of liver dysfunction ^[16,17].

How Our Products Can Treat Covid-19 Complications

We use products derived from human baby umbilical cords in all our therapy programs - Wharton's Jelly MSCs (wjMSCs). Our products are special because they can:

• reduce inflammation of the heart, lungs and liver ^[20,21].
• offer cardio protection and vascular protection ^[20,22,].
• encourage cardiomyocyte generation ^[23,24,25].
• promote liver recovery ^{[21,26,27,28,29,30,31]}.
• reduce renal fibrosis ^[32].
• transform into lost and damaged cells ^{[22,24,28,29,30.31,33,34]}.
• decrease cell death (apoptosis) ^[20,26,29].
• migrate to sites of injury (chemotaxis) ^[22,35,36].
• communicate with and alter nearby cells (paracrine effect) ^[21,37,38].
• encourage your cells to self-repair (autocrine effect) ^[21,26,29].
• prevent rejection by regulating the immune system (immunomodulation) ^{[28,35,36,39,40,41,42,43]}.
• incapable of forming tumours ^{[35,41,44,45,46]}.

Treating Covid-19 Complications

There are currently numerous clinical trials exploring the use of wjMSCs in the treatment of Covid-19. These have been registered but results and findings have yet to be posted ^{[47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55]}.

In a study published on the 27^th of February 2020, a team of researchers from Kunming University led by Dr Hu Min treated a 65-year-old Covid-19 positive woman with umbilical cord wjMSCs. The patient – who also suffers from type 2 diabetes – was first treated with antivirals and antibiotics and required oxygen to help her breathe. Her health worsened and she was moved to the intensive care unit on the 1^st of February where her organs began to fail. The doctors considered using wjMSCs because, in other studies, Covid-19 has been shown to cause severe damage to the lungs, liver and other organs. After consulting the hospital’s ethics committee and the patient’s family, a course of treatment was agreed upon.

She was given the 1st injection of 50 million wjMSCs on 9^th February. Once it was determined that the patient did not experience any adverse reactions to the first injection, she was given a 2nd injection on the 12^th. On the 13^th, the patient was able to get out of bed and take a short walk with limited help. She was given her final injection of 50 million wjMSCs on the 15^th. CT images on the 16^th indicated significant relief in both the left and right lungs. On the 17^th, having received a total of 150 million wjMSCs, the patient was well enough to transfer out of the intensive care unit to a regular ward. Her vital signs returned to normal and Covid-19 throat swab tests on the 17^th and 19^th both came back negative. CT images on the 21^st indicated further relief in both lungs with most of the ground-glass opacity (GGO) either lightened or completely disappeared ^[56,57].

A study published on 28^th February on chinavix.org concluded that preventing and reversing the hyper-inflammation (cytokine storm syndrome) may be the key to saving patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. wjMSCs have been shown to possess a comprehensive powerful immunomodulatory function.

Between the 23^rd of January to the 16^th of February, the study investigated whether wjMSC transplantation improved the outcome of 7 COVID-19 pneumonia patients in Beijing You An Hospital, China. 1 critically-ill, 4 severely-ill and 2 moderately-ill were enrolled. The clinical outcomes, as well as changes in inflammatory levels, immune function and adverse effects, were assessed for 14 days post-injection. All 7 patients received 1 million wjMSCs per kilogram of body weight intravenously.

The study found that 2 to 4 days after transplantation, all symptoms disappeared in all 7 patients and oxygen saturation levels rose to more than 95% at rest, without or with oxygen uptake. The pulmonary function and symptoms of all patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were significantly improved 2 days after transplantation. 2 moderately-ill and 1 severely-ill patient were even well enough to be discharged 10 days after transplantation. Peripheral lymphocytes were increased and the over-activated cytokine-secreting immune cells disappeared within 3 to 6 days of treatment. Gene expression profiles showed that the wjMSCs themselves were ACE2- and TMPRSS2-; which indicated that they were free from COVID-19 infection.

Improvements were particularly evident in the 1 critically-ill patient who presented with decreased oxygen saturation levels (indicating lung damage) as well as biochemical indicators that aspartic aminotransferase, creatine kinase activity and myoglobin had increased sharply (indicating severe damage to the liver and heart).

Post-treatment, the patient’s plasma C-reaction protein level reached its highest levels at 191.0 g/L on 1^st February; indicating that the inflammation was alleviating quickly. The patient’s oxygen saturation, without supplementary oxygen, rose from 89% (on 31^st January) to 98% (on 13^th February); indicating that the pulmonary alveoli (lungs) had regained its air-change function. Biochemical indicators decreased to normal values 2 to 4 days after treatment. By the 13^th of February, all indices had stabilized at normal levels. The respiratory rate decreased to normal range on the 4th day post-MSC transplantation. Both fever and shortness of breath were resolved on the 4th day after MSCs transplantation as well. Chest CT imaging showed that the ground-glass opacity (GGO) and pneumonia infiltration had largely reduced on the 9th day after transplantation ^[58].

Cyrona’s Program

Achieving high standards in our work is of paramount importance to us. Depending on a patient’s needs, we combine our premium grade Passage 2 wjMSCs with physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and/or rehabilitative medicine. 

Learn more about our Products and Programs.

Why Choose Cyrona?

• Latest cellular research and technology.
• Unique, tailored therapy outlines.
• Products that meet international standards.
• Microbiology & clinical team with extensive experience in advanced medicine.
• Board-certified physicians geared toward patient safety.
• Fact-based information from clinical studies and trials.
• No outlandish promises of a one-stop-cure or false improvement rates.

Therapy Packages

All our therapy packages come inclusive of:

INTERNATIONAL PATIENTS

• Premium grade Passage 2 wjMSCs.
• Treatment by qualified specialist(s).
• Certificate of Analysis (CoA).
• Airport transfer.
• Transportation to & from therapy session(s).
• Accommodation.
• Hospital room for therapy.

LOCAL PATIENTS

• Premium grade Passage 2 wjMSCs.
• Treatment by qualified specialist(s).
• Certificate of Analysis (CoA).
• Transportation to & from therapy session(s).
• Hospital room for therapy.

How Do We Proceed

All our therapies are charged based on the number of wjMSCs and supplementary infusions required for the patient’s specific condition. As no two people are alike, our specialists review each patient’s medical reports before tailoring a therapy catered to addressing his or her individual needs.

You may chat with one of our Customer Care Representatives or send an e-mail detailing the patient’s condition to one of our Liaison Officers. It would expedite the process if you can provide us with:

• Imaging results (MRI scan / CT scan / X-Ray).
• Haematology reports (blood test).
• Doctor’s assessment reports.
• Pictures or videos of the patient (if relevant).

Upon getting in touch with us, a Liaison Officer evaluates and assigns the case to the specialist best equipped to treat the condition. A therapy, unique only to the patient, is drawn up and a price quoted accordingly.

Should you decide to proceed with therapy, our specialists require that all patients have Cancer Marker Screening performed in their country of residence before travelling to us for therapy. If the patient has had Cancer Marker Screening within the last 3 months, you may e-mail those results to us. In the event that the patient’s Cancer Marker Screening results are not satisfactory, our specialists will refuse to proceed with therapy. It is for this reason that we request that patients have Cancer Marker Screening performed in their country of residence prior to travelling to us.

One week prior to arrival, a deposit payment is required in order to arrange accommodation and transportation.

Full payment is required to be made one-day prior to therapy commencement.

Post-treatment, our specialist will provide the patient with a post-treatment protocol as well as what to expect on his or her journey towards a better, and hopefully, healthier new life.