In the News

10 May, 2024

Exciting Breakthrough Offers Hope For Long COVID Patients

Researchers from Griffith University’s National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED) have made a groundbreaking discovery that could bring relief to those struggling with Long COVID. In a world-first finding, they’ve identified a way to restore the faulty function of ion channels on immune cells using a well-known drug typically used for other medical purposes.

10 May, 2024

“Tender Points” Documentary Shows Pain + Art = Healing

On May 11th, immerse yourself in an inspiring documentary screening that celebrates community, creativity, and resilience. “Tender Points: A Fibromyalgia Journey” invites you into the world of Lina Alvarez, a courageous pottery studio owner navigating life with fibromyalgia. Through this film, you’ll witness Lina’s quest for relief from chronic illness and discover how she finds solace and strength within her pottery community in Los Angeles.

09 May, 2024

Functional Connectivity Associated With Attention Networks Differs Among Subgroups Of Fibromyalgia Patients: An Observational Case–Control Study

Fibromyalgia is a heterogenous chronic pain disorder diagnosed by symptom-based criteria. The aim of this study was to clarify different pathophysiological characteristics between subgroups of patients with fibromyalgia. We identified subgroups with distinct pain thresholds: those with a low pressure pain threshold (PL; 16 patients) and those with a normal pressure pain threshold (PN; 15 patients). Both groups experienced severe pain. We performed resting-state functional MRI analysis and detected 11 functional connectivity pairs among all 164 ROIs with distinct difference between the two groups (p < 0.001). The most distinctive one was that the PN group had significantly higher functional connectivity between the secondary somatosensory area and the dorsal attention network (p < 0.0001). Then, we investigated the transmission pathway of pain stimuli. Functional connectivity of the thalamus to the insular cortex was significantly higher in the PL group (p < 0.01 – 0.05). These results suggest that endogenous pain driven by top-down signals via the dorsal attention network may contribute to pain sensation in a subgroup of fibromyalgia patients with a normal pain threshold. Besides, external pain driven by bottom-up signals via the spinothalamic tract may contribute to pain sensations in another group of patients with a low pain threshold.

09 May, 2024

Town Hall Lighting Events For May 2024

The Town of Oakville in Canada has announced the various causes they will be recognizing by lighting up Town Hall, located at 1225 Trafalgar Road.

08 May, 2024

The Power Of "Sorry"

Last week, the NIH held a symposium for the purpose of elucidating its recently reported findings in a case-control study of ME. In 2016, researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke (NINDS) undertook this study with fanfare, orchestrating press coverage that included a Washington Post front pager featuring a patient (and former NIH employee) sitting on a hospital bed, while NIH director Francis Collins sat next to him, a lanky arm draped around the patient’s shoulder. The plan in 2016 was to study forty patients. Ultimately, NIH scientists selected seventeen as bona fide.

08 May, 2024

Physical Fitness Linked To All Gait Parameters For Women With Fibromyalgia

A new study found maintaining good levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, physical fitness, and appropriate weight balance is linked to improved gait parameters in women with fibromyalgia.

07 May, 2024

Griffith University Researchers To Trial Naltrexone On Long COVID Patients

Jayden Donald went from a fit and healthy teenager who rode his horses almost every day, to being so sick he could hardly sit up after his second bout of COVID-19. A year later, the 19-year-old talented equestrian has only recently returned to university and to the competitive dressage arena after being diagnosed with long COVID. "I was flat out walking," the University of Southern Queensland engineering student says at his family's picturesque property at Haigslea, about 50 kilometres west of Brisbane. "You go from going to uni every day, seeing your mates, having a bit of fun, and saying, 'oh I want to go for dinner at the pub one night' to 'oh, I can't, I'm stuck at home'.'"

07 May, 2024

Mediterranean Diet Improves Pain, QoL In Patients With Fibromyalgia

Patients with fibromyalgia receiving a personalized Mediterranean diet reported improvements in both pain and quality of life, according to a study published in Pain and Therapy. Conversely, those who ate fewer calories but chose more inflammatory foods and/or foods with an imbalanced nutritional content did not experience these benefits. “Diet can cause inflammation,” wrote a team of investigators led by Ilenia Casini, PhD, associated with the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Italy. “Inflammatory conditions of the digestive system can trigger the release of cytokines, which can have effects on the central nervous system…Dietary interventions are used to treat many diseases, as a healthy diet improves physical fitness, mental health and cognitive abilities.”

06 May, 2024

Avindra Nath – Demystifying exhaustion

Dr. Avindra Nath, clinical director of the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, has always been interested in viruses. He completed his neurology training during the AIDS epidemic, a formative experience that left him fascinated by how viruses interact with the nervous system. This year, that interest yielded a historic study—perhaps the most extensive ever conducted—on a long-ignored and mysterious condition: myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

06 May, 2024

People Have Been Searching For POTS Diagnoses And Treatment For Decades. The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Bringing Them Hope

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS, is a chronic illness impacting the nervous system that debilitates many around the Northwoods. Research and interest in the condition has expanded as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. WXPR spoke with a resident of Minocqua about her experiences trying to find the right care.