In the News

28 April, 2024

For These Singers, It's A Form Of Therapy. This Is How Choirs Can Help Our Brains And Bodies Recover From Burnout

Scientists have been singing the praises of choirs for decades. These musical gatherings seem to support social and emotional wellbeing for all sorts of groups — among small or large crowds, those with established connections and those who are just getting to know each other, and across cultures. Researchers have established how group singing can support and even facilitate recovery in patients with Parkinson's disease, post-natal depression and some types of cancer — and they say they've only just begun to scratch the surface on the cognitive possibilities.

28 April, 2024

Long Covid: ‘I Don’t Want To Be Stuck In This House Anymore’

Profiles of New Zealand long-COVID sufferers.

27 April, 2024

Research Signals ‘New Day’ For Treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Even though it sounds a little amorphous, chronic fatigue syndrome – now called myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in the medical community – is all too real for hundreds of thousands or even millions of Americans. As recently as 2015, when the Atlantic magazine ran an article entitled “The Tragic Neglect of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” patients were being told that the illness was psychosomatic. It was also around that time that patients started to demand that they be listened to and acknowledged. In response, “the National Academy of Medicine created criteria for the diagnosis of ME/CFS that included malaise, fatigue and cognitive dependence,” said Dr. Michael Weir, director of the Biomedical Science program at Keiser University’s Port St. Lucie campus. “That was the beginning of a new day for the syndrome.”

27 April, 2024

NIAMS Boosts Support For Pain Research

In a 2022 letter from Lindsay A. Criswell, Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, she announced that NIAMS and several other NIH institutes had been selected by Congress to receive funding that would enhance opportunities for advancing pain science. This is an important topic for NIAMS, particularly considering that many diseases and conditions that fall within our portfolio can cause acute and chronic pain – which can be highly debilitating and difficult to manage. While those grappling with pain have seen some relief thanks to progress in the area, we still need to better understand the mechanisms of pain, find effective and nonaddictive options for treatment, and improve health equity for those disproportionately affected by these conditions.

26 April, 2024

Fibromyalgia Patients Are Using Cannabis To Ease Their Symptoms

Researchers from the USA have published a study showing how fibromyalgia patients who deal with symptoms including pain, fatigue, and anxiety are using cannabis.

26 April, 2024

Nutritional Status, Dietary Intake, Quality Of Life, And Dysphagia In Women With Fibromyalgia

A study that aimed to analyze the association between nutritional status, micro- and macronutrient intake, and quality of life (QoL) in a cohort of women with Fibromyalgia and risk of dysphagia (i.e., difficulty swallowing) compared to women with FMS without risk of dysphagia.

25 April, 2024

Are Monoclonal Antibodies The Future Of Long COVID Treatments?

The search for a cure to long COVID just got more promising.

25 April, 2024

World ME Day (May 12) Sheds Light On Global Health Crisis: Millions Affected By COVID Triggered Cases

The National Advisory on ME (ANZMES) is calling on Kiwis to come together for World ME Day as we battle a global health crisis. Already worldwide there are an estimated 25 million people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

25 April, 2024

Sanders’s Long COVID Funding Bill Misses Opportunity To Aid A Similar Chronic Condition

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) recent call for $10 billion in research grants over ten years for long COVID is a worthy initiative, yet we are deeply disappointed the senator is limiting his focus to long COVID. Millions of victims of infection-associated chronic conditions have been waiting decades for the federal government to fund research to improve diagnosis and develop therapies.

24 April, 2024

Increased Pressure Pain Sensibility In Fibromyalgia Patients Is Located Deep To The Skin But Not Restricted To Muscle Tissue

This study was aimed at comparing pressure pain sensibility in different tissues in fibromyalgia patients. Pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were assessed in 16 fibromyalgia (FM) patients bilaterally at the bony part of epicondylus lateralis humeri, at the belly of m. extensor carpi ulnaris and at m. brachioradialis where the radial nerve branches pass underneath. Following a double-blind design, either a local anesthetic cream (EMLA) or a control cream was applied to the skin and PPTs were reassessed. The site with underlying nerve had a lower PPT than the bony site (P < 0.001) and the ‘pure’ muscle site (P < 0.001), respectively. These relations remained unaltered by skin hypoesthesia. The PPTs over the bony and the ‘pure’ muscle sites did not differ. Application of EMLA, compared to control cream, did not change PPTs over any area examined. The results demonstrated that pressure-induced pain sensibility in FM patients is not most pronounced in muscle tissue and does not depend on increased skin sensibility.