In the News

23 January, 2024

Long COVID Creates Changes In The Blood, Aiding Detection, Reports New Study

An international team of scientists has found distinct changes in the blood of people with long COVID, suggesting a potential strategy to diagnose and perhaps treat a mysterious condition that takes many forms.

23 January, 2024

Patients, Experts Take Center Stage At Senate Long-COVID Hearing

Before the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) committee Friday January 19, patients battling long COVID and the mother of a teen patient detailed the day-to-day struggles with the condition and the obstacles in getting care. Also, healthcare providers and researchers described the challenges in managing and studying a condition with a wide spectrum of health impacts and debilitating effect on patients. Today's hearing attracted a large crowd of patients and their advocates that spilled over into a second room.

22 January, 2024

Pain And The Biochemistry Of Fibromyalgia: Patterns Of Peripheral Cytokines And Chemokines Contribute To The Differentiation Between Fibromyalgia And Controls And Are Associated With Pain, Fat Infiltration And Content

This explorative study analyses interrelationships between peripheral compounds in saliva, plasma, and muscles together with body composition variables in healthy subjects and in fibromyalgia patients (FM). There is a need to better understand the extent cytokines and chemokines are associated with body composition and which cytokines and chemokines differentiate FM from healthy controls.

22 January, 2024

Woman With Disability Hasn't Had Heat At Her Detroit Apartment For Nearly A Week

DETROIT (WXYZ) — As the feels-like temperatures dip into the negatives this week, multiple units at the Russell Woods Apartments in Detroit have not had heat since last Friday. Tiffany Shoate has fibromyalgia, chronic pain that gets worse in cold temperatures. Her and about a dozen other tenants at the apartment complex have not had heat since the snow storm Friday. That's five days that she's had to use multiple space heaters and heat from her oven to stay warm.

22 January, 2024

Study Finds Low-Dose Naltrexone Works No Better Than Placebo

In recent years, low-dose naltrexone (LDN) has grown in popularity as a treatment for fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions. Although naltrexone is only FDA-approved for the treatment of substance use disorders, a growing number of patients and providers say low doses of naltrexone prescribed off-label can be effective in relieving pain. A new study by Danish researchers is casting doubt on the some of those claims, finding that LDN works no better than a placebo in reducing pain for women with fibromyalgia. In their double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 99 adult women with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to receive either an LDN pill or an identical-looking placebo daily for 12 weeks.

21 January, 2024

Life Derailed: Long COVID Still Gnawing At B.C. Long After Pandemic Fades

Long, slow path of a constrained self facing thousands in Canada dealing with lingering effects of the virus.

21 January, 2024

Cardiovascular Effects Of The Post-COVID-19 Condition

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the new clinical entity of the post-COVID-19 condition, defined as a multisystemic condition of persistent symptoms following resolution of an acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, has emerged as an important area of clinical focus. While this syndrome spans multiple organ systems, cardiovascular complications are often the most prominent features. These include, but are not limited to, myocardial injury, heart failure, arrhythmias, vascular injury/thrombosis and dysautonomia. As the number of individuals with the post-COVID-19 condition continues to climb and overwhelm medical systems, summarizing existing information and knowledge gaps in the complex cardiovascular effects of the post-COVID-19 condition has become critical for patient care. In this Review, we explore the current state of knowledge of the post-COVID-19 condition and identify areas where additional research is warranted. This will provide a framework for better understanding the cardiovascular manifestations of the post-COVID-19 condition with a focus on pathophysiology, diagnosis and management.

21 January, 2024

WOND-EAR-FUL Who Is Giselle Boxer And What Does Her Company Acu Seeds Make?

Giselle Boxer is a business owner from Sheffield, England. The entrepreneur started her own business, Acu Seeds, after a battle with chronic fatigue. Boxer, who used to work at an advertising agency, is one of the contestants on the 2024 series of BBC's Dragons' Den. Ahead of her episode, Boxer opened up about her experience on the reality TV show.

20 January, 2024

People Working Fewer Hours Due To Long COVID, As Sick Days Increase Dramatically: ILO Report

March 11, 2024 will mark four years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. As economies, borders and workplaces reopened, the global unemployment dropped to the lowest level in 2023 compared to the beginning of the pandemic, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Along with this, the working poverty rate (share of employed persons living in poverty due to low-paying jobs or low incomes) and informality has also approached pre-pandemic rates. But the desire and need to return to pre-COVID situation has come along with a reality that will especially worry the employers, reveals a new report.

20 January, 2024

The Frequency Of Fibromyalgia Syndrome In Patients With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome [PCOS] is one of the most common reproductive abnormalities and is characterized by hyperandrogenemia. We aimed to assess the frequency of fibromyalgia syndrome [FMS] and psychological distress in patients with PCOS. Methods: Forty patients with PCOS and 39 age-matched healthy controls were included in the study as PCOS and healthy normal control [HNC] groups. The diagnosis of FMS was based on the American College of Rheumatology criteria of 1990, and the diagnosis of PCOS was based on the Rotterdam criteria of 2003. All participants completed the questionnaires to gather information including demographic features, FMS-related symptoms, and the psychological status. Patients with PCOS were divided into two subgroups according to coexistence of FMS [PCOS only and PCOS + FMS]. Results: The mean age of PCOS and HNC groups were 23.97 +/- 6.01 and 26.15 +/- 5.45 years, respectively [P > 0.05]. The frequency of FMS in PCOS and HNC groups was 32.5 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively [P < 0.05]. Except constipation and paresthesia, the presence of FMS-related symptoms in the PCOS + FMS subgroup were higher than those of the PCOS only subgroup and HNC group. There were no differences in depression scores between the PCOS only and PCOS + FMS subgroups, but there were differences in anxiety scores. Conclusion: The frequency of FMS was found to be increased in PCOS. Anxiety risk was also found to be increased, particularly in patients with PCOS and concomitant FMS.