In the News

21 April, 2024

Survey Finds Many Fibromyalgia Patients Finding Symptom Relief With Medical Cannabis

Almost 50% of fibromyalgia patients use cannabis for symptom relief, according to new study. Experts suggest results underline need for clinician awareness, further research.

21 April, 2024

Sex Differences Could Be Key To The Successful Treatment Of Long COVID

Often more severe in women, hormones could hold the key to unlocking the mystery of long COVID.

20 April, 2024

Women Are The New Face Of Long Covid – I’m One Of Them

An article by Australian long-COVID sufferer Milanda Rout.

20 April, 2024

Women Fight For Diagnoses And Treatment Of POTS In The Northwoods

Jody Bognar was never one to sit still. “I was doing flips, I was, you know, I would go out for hours and hit a tennis ball against our garage door for hours after dinner,” she remembered. As a child she trained in gymnastics and dance, going on to dance in college while studying education and later narrowing that to physical education in a masters degree. Now, in her 50’s and living in Minocqua, Bognar is practically bed-bound. “He said nothing was wrong with me. All my lab tests were fine, you know, my heart was fine, my lungs supposedly were fine, all this.”

20 April, 2024

Are Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome And Long COVID Part Of The Same Disorder? A New NIH Initiative Aims To Find Out

A study of 17 patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome revealed that there is an absolute biological basis for the condition. Researchers say that exposure to an infection leads to concomitant and persistent immune dysfunction and changes in gut microbiome, which results in decreased concentrations of metabolites that then impact brain function.

19 April, 2024

What Is "Spoon Theory"? And Why Is It Important?

Many people live with invisible disabilities, chronic pain, or symptoms that can be hard to predict. Societal perceptions of disability can be harmful when they don't take into account individual experiences. Spoon theory can be a helpful tool when explaining the limited energy that can accompany chronic conditions.

19 April, 2024

4 Years In, A Sobering Look At Long COVID Progress

Four years ago in the spring of 2020, physicians and patients coined the term "long COVID" to describe a form of the viral infection from which recovery seemed impossible. (And the old nickname "long-haulers" seems so quaint now.) What started as a pandemic that killed nearly 3 million people globally in 2020 alone would turn into a chronic disease causing a long list of symptoms — from extreme fatigue, to brain fog, tremors, nausea, headaches, rapid heartbeat, and more. Today, 6.4% of Americans report symptoms of long COVID, and many have never recovered. Still, we've come a long way, although there's much we don't understand about the condition. At the very least, physicians have a greater understanding that long COVID exists and can cause serious long-term symptoms.

19 April, 2024

Sunderland Woman Caught Lyme Disease After Dog Lay On Hedgehog Nest In Garden

Kay Gibb caught Lyme Disease in summer 2021 and her symptoms have never gone away.

18 April, 2024

AIM ImmunoTech Announces Charles Lapp, MD, As A Consulting Medical Officer For Its ME/CFS And Long COVID Programs

OCALA, Fla., April 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AIM ImmunoTech Inc. (NYSE American: AIM) (“AIM”) today announced that Charles Lapp, MD, is joining the company to help lead its efforts to develop Ampligen (rintatolimod) as a potential treatment for Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID.

18 April, 2024

Development Of A Mouse Model For Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex clinical condition characterized by overwhelming fatigue and associated symptoms like pain lasting greater than 6 months. ME/CFS is often initiated after an illness, exacerbated by stress, and associated with immune system changes. The purpose of this study was to develop a clinically relevant mouse model of ME/CFS. We hypothesized that pairing stress with an illness-like immune stimulation would generate long-term fatigue and pain, and thus tested effects of combining one-day of acute restraint stress with the immune activator lipopolysaccharide (LPS, i.p.). Fatigue was assessed using voluntary wheel running (RW) and open field testing. For pain, we assessed mechanical paw sensitivity and muscle withdrawal thresholds. Immune cell phenotype was assessed using spectral flow cytometry. C57BL6 mice were divided into 4 groups: (1) stress+LPS, (2) stress+saline, (3) stress+saline+1-day no-RW, (4) no intervention. The stress+LPS group showed a short duration decrease in RW (p<0.001), open field activity (p<0.001), and muscle withdrawal threshold (p=0.005). Surprisingly, the stress and saline group ran significantly less over the 12-day period showing a long-lasting decrease in RW when compared to the other three groups (p=0.002) without changes in open field or pain behaviors long-term (day 10). The stress+LPS group showed alterations in immune phenotypes: increased CD4+ T-cells (p<0.001), decreased CD8+ T-cells (p=0.007), and decreased CD25+ T-cells (p=0.02) compared to no intervention group. Thus, stress with a mild insult produces a long-term reduction in activity that is not associated with alterations in immune cell phenotype. Funded by the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research: PODS I and II.