In the News

03 June, 2024

An Adelaide Teenager Is Using Her Three-Year Experience With Chronic Pain To Help Others

Kate Smith, 17, is just one of more than 3 million Australians currently living with chronic pain, a condition she had no idea about until she was diagnosed by her doctor.

02 June, 2024

‘It Clearly Can Make It Worse’: The Connection Between Abuse, PTSD And Chronic Pain

A considerable proportion of rheumatology patients may have a history of abuse, trauma or post-traumatic stress that contributes an emotional component to their physical pain. The question is, how many rheumatologists are asking about it? “When you look at PTSD in the general population, the rate is approximately 7%,” Pavan Tankha, DO, of the center for spine health at the Cleveland Clinic, told Healio Rheumatology. “When you look at patients with chronic pain, those rates may increase as high as 35%, or even close to 50%.” According to experts, this is a topic that is awash in unanswered questions. Can emotional pain or past trauma cause a de novo autoimmune or rheumatic disease? What is the extent to which that pain and trauma can exacerbate an existing condition?

02 June, 2024

S100 Proteins: A New Frontier In Fibromyalgia Research.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic condition that causes widespread pain, fatigue, and other symptoms that significantly affect quality of life. The underlying mechanisms of fibromyalgia involve both the immune system and the central nervous system. It has been proposed that changes in multiple ascending and descending pathways in the central nervous system may contribute to increased pain sensitivity in individuals with this condition. Recent research has identified S100 proteins as a new area of interest in fibromyalgia studies. These proteins are a group of small molecular weight proteins involved in inflammation and various functions inside and outside of cells, and they may play a critical role in the development and progression of FM. Although S100B has been the most studied in FM patients, other studies have reported that S100A7, S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 may also be useful as potential biomarkers or for a deeper understanding of FM pathophysiology. The potential role of S100 proteins in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia could be mediated by RAGE and TLR4, which signal through JNK, ERK, and p38 to activate AP-1 and NF-κB and induce the release of proinflammatory cytokines, thereby producing the inflammation, fatigue, and chronic pain characteristic of fibromyalgia. To gain new perspectives on targeted therapeutic approaches, it is crucial to understand how S100 proteins could impact the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia. This review examines the potential role of S100 proteins in fibromyalgia and their impact on improving our comprehension of the condition, as well as facilitating further research on this interesting topic.

01 June, 2024

Circulating Microaggregates As Biomarkers For The Post‐COVID Syndrome

CoVID-19 can develop into Post-COVID syndrome of potentially high morbidity, with procoagulation and reactivation of dormant viral infections being hypothesized pathophysiological mechanisms. We report on a patient suffering from fatigue, post exertional malaise, pain and neurological symptoms as a consequence of the second CoVID infection. Using live confocal microscopy on native whole blood samples we detected microaggregates of thrombocytes, leukocytes and plasma proteins in peripheral blood. In addition, there was specific cellular immunological reactivity to EBV. Upon anticoagulatory and virustatic pharmacological therapy we observed dissolution of microaggregates and significant stable clinical remission. We suggest to consider circulating microaggregates as a morphological indicator of chronic post-COVID syndrome.

01 June, 2024

Running Against Chronic Pain

Durban — A KwaZulu-Natal North Coast woman fighting chronic pain fatigue took up athletics in a bid to overcome it and will run her fourth Comrades Marathon in June.

01 June, 2024

Hope Through Art

Highland Park artist Jessica Kaplanhas been afflicted with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), or myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), for 20 years.

31 May, 2024

Should People With Long COVID Be Donating Blood?

Based on the current science, the blood and plasma of people with long COVID should not be used for donation, leading experts agreed.

31 May, 2024

#3049 Differences On Fatigue Characterization In Two Distinct Populations Of Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

Chronic fatigue remains, despite all the technological advances, one of the most important symptoms in prevalent hemodialysis (HD) subjects and has a strong impact on mortality and health-related quality of life. The objective of our work was to characterize fatigue in our patients, as a starting point for the development, in the near future, of an oriented and standardized approach.

31 May, 2024

Rates Of Severe Multiple Drug Intolerance Syndrome Up In Fibromyalgia, IBS

Patients with fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have increased rates of severe multiple drug intolerance syndrome (MDIS), according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

30 May, 2024

PAIN THRESHOLD I’m ashamed of myself after my chronic illness diagnosis

Advice for a UK ME/CFS sufferer from The Sun's agony aunt "Deidre".