In the News
Keep up to date with the latest news articles from around the world.
Articles represent the views of their authors and not ME/CFS SA. Always seek advice from a registered health practitioner before changing your care plan.
27 May, 2024
Fibromyalgia, IBS Patients Linked To Multiple-Drug Intolerance
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study findings may help physicians diagnose patients who would benefit from drug allergy evaluations.
26 May, 2024
ME Alliance To Hold June Fundraiser With Band At Twyford
Twyford Parish Hall will be alive with the sounds of swing and soul this June to raise funds for a local non-profit organisation. On Saturday, June 8 The Liam White band, who regularly play at the Concorde Club, will be performing at the parish hall to raise funds for The ME/CFS Alliance.
26 May, 2024
Author Profile — Stuart Murdoch
“I would never have written a book without chronic fatigue. I would never have been in a band without ME”
26 May, 2024
From Infection To Chronic Illness: Learning From Long COVID
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 has caused unexplained, chronic, post-infection symptoms in survivors. The phenomenon, known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection or "long COVID," surfaced shortly after COVID-19 testing was introduced to the public, and doctors began noting a pattern of onset of chronic fatigue and dysautonomia in patients who had recovered from acute COVID-19 infection. Yet, SARS-CoV-2 is not the only pathogen that has been linked to chronic symptoms. While there are known links between bacterial and viral infections with post-acute infection syndromes, much is still unknown about the mechanisms that underpin these illnesses or why they occur.
25 May, 2024
From Infection To Chronic Illness: Learning From Long COVID
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 has caused unexplained, chronic, post-infection symptoms in survivors. The phenomenon, known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection or “Long COVID,” surfaced shortly after COVID-19 testing was introduced to the public, and doctors began noting a pattern of onset of chronic fatigue and dysautonomia in patients who had recovered from acute COVID-19 infection. Yet, SARS-CoV-2 is not the only pathogen that has been linked to chronic symptoms. While there are known links between bacterial and viral infections with post-acute infection syndromes, much is still unknown about the mechanisms that underpin these illnesses or why they occur. A silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it reignited research interest in this field. How can we better recognize and treat these chronic disabilities? We dive into the research to better understand the relationship between microbe and host, as well as the immunological landscape these pathogens leave behind.
25 May, 2024
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Protesters Call For Specialist ME Services
A former champion Irish dancer who has myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) has joined other protesters calling for better support for those with the condition.
25 May, 2024
Groundbreaking Discover ME Campaign With Virtual Reality Experience Comes To Portadown
Hope 4 ME & Fibro NI have teamed up with Libraries NI to bring their powerful Discover ME campaign to Portadown Library through a moving VR experience. The Discover ME campaign has been organised by the Charity Hope 4 ME & Fibro NI, as part of an ongoing initiative to raise awareness for the medical conditions Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.), Fibromyalgia, Long Covid and other Post Viral Syndromes (PVS) such conditions can demonstrate overlapping characteristics. Members of the public are invited to Portadown Library from 10-11am on Monday, June 3 to have the opportunity to experience the Discover ME virtual reality awareness film and have access to a variety of information and resources.
24 May, 2024
Deciphering Nociplastic Pain: Clinical Features, Risk Factors And Potential Mechanisms
Nociplastic pain is a mechanistic term used to describe pain that arises or is sustained by altered nociception, despite the absence of tissue damage. Although nociplastic pain has distinct pathophysiology from nociceptive and neuropathic pain, these pain mechanisms often coincide within individuals, which contributes to the intractability of chronic pain. Key symptoms of nociplastic pain include pain in multiple body regions, fatigue, sleep disturbances, cognitive dysfunction, depression and anxiety. Individuals with nociplastic pain are often diffusely tender — indicative of hyperalgesia and/or allodynia — and are often more sensitive than others to non-painful sensory stimuli such as lights, odours and noises. This Review summarizes the risk factors, clinical presentation and treatment of nociplastic pain, and describes how alterations in brain function and structure, immune processing and peripheral factors might contribute to the nociplastic pain phenotype. This article concludes with a discussion of two proposed subtypes of nociplastic pain that reflect distinct neurobiological features and treatment responsivity.
24 May, 2024
Long Dismissed, Chronic Lyme Disease Is Finally Getting Its Moment
Sue Gray, 59, has been sick half her life. But it took two decades to confirm why. When Gray was 30 and living with her then-husband in the middle of the woods in upstate New York, she felt a tick on her scalp one day after taking a shower. Her former husband plucked it off with tweezers, and “that was the end of that—for that day,” Gray says. Over the next few months, however, Gray’s health began to decline. She suffered frequent respiratory infections and developed a twitch in her eye. Then, a few weeks after the twitch began, she felt the sensation of ants crawling up and down her legs, even though nothing was there. That made Gray nervous enough to book an appointment with a neurologist. Remembering her recent tick bite, Gray asked to be tested for Lyme disease—but the results came back negative. Looking back, knowing what she does now about the faultiness of Lyme tests, she wishes she’d been retested. But her doctor just sent her on her way.
24 May, 2024
Impact Of Physical Activity Education On Muscle Strength And Shoulder Girdle Pain In Fibromyalgia
The following is a summary of “Effect of physical activity education on shoulder girdle pain and muscle strength in participants with fibromyalgia: a pilot experimental study,” published in the May 2024 issue of Pain by Couëpel et al.
