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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.

12 March, 2024

Motor Dysfunctions In Fibromyalgia Patients: The Importance Of Breathing

The classification of fibromyalgia (FM) is not always immediate and simple, with the time from the first diagnosis, compared to the onset of symptoms, of a few years. Currently, we do not have instrumental or biochemical tests considered as gold standards; the clinician will make a diagnosis of FM based on the patient’s medical history and subjective assessment. The symptoms can involve physical, cognitive and psychological disorders, with the presence of pain of different origins and classifications: nociplastic, nociceptive and neuropathic pain. Among the symptoms highlighted, postural disorders and neuromotor uncoordination emerge, whose functional dysfunctions can increase the mortality and morbidity rate. An alteration of the diaphragm muscle could generate such functional motor problems. Considering that the current literature underestimates the importance of breathing in FM, the article aims to highlight the relationship between motor and diaphragmatic difficulties in the patient, soliciting new points of view for the clinical and therapeutic framework.

11 March, 2024

New Blood Test Developed For Chronic Disease That Usually Affects Women

Researchers now believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way the brain and spinal cord process painful and non-painful signals. Symptoms often begin after physical trauma, surgery, infection, or significant psychological stress.

11 March, 2024

Updates On Long Covid And The Brain

An article from The British Psychological Society about the latest research into the physical causes of long COVID.

11 March, 2024

Long COVID Clues Emerge From Chronic Fatigue Study

New research by La Trobe University has uncovered the intricate relationship between two debilitating conditions, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID; offering insights into disease pathologies and potential treatment avenues. The review article, "Unravelling shared mechanisms: insights from recent ME/CFS research to illuminate long COVID pathologies", studied both diseases in tandem to unlock a deeper understanding of their shared characteristics and unique molecular abnormalities.

10 March, 2024

Occult Endocrine Disorders Newly Diagnosed In Patients With Post-COVID-19 Symptoms

Determination of long COVID requires ruling out alternative diagnoses, but there has been no report on the features of alternative diagnoses. This study was a single-center retrospective study of outpatients who visited our clinic between February 2021 and June 2023 that was carried out to determine the characteristics of alternative diagnoses in patients with post-COVID-19 symptoms. In a total of 731 patients, 50 patients (6.8%) were newly diagnosed with 52 diseases requiring medical intervention, and 16 (32%) of those 50 patients (2.2% of the total) were considered to have priority for treatment of the newly diagnosed disorders over long COVID treatment. The proportion of patients with a new diagnosis increased with advance of age, with 15.7% of the patients aged 60 years or older having a new diagnosis. Endocrine and metabolic diseases and hematological and respiratory diseases were the most common, being detected in eight patients (16%) each. Although 35 of the 52 diseases (67%) were related to their symptoms, endocrine and metabolic diseases were the least associated with specific symptoms. Other disorders that require attention were found especially in elderly patients with symptomatic long COVID. Thus, appropriate assessment and differentiation from alternative diagnoses are necessary for managing long COVID.

10 March, 2024

Unravelling Shared Mechanisms: Insights From Recent ME/CFS Research To Illuminate Long COVID Pathologies

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating chronic illness often triggered by an initiating acute event, mainly viral infections. The transition from acute to chronic disease remains unknown, but interest in this phenomenon has escalated since the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-COVID-19 illness, termed ‘long COVID’ (LC). Both ME/CFS and LC share many clinical similarities. Here, we present recent findings in ME/CFS research focussing on proposed disease pathologies shared with LC. Understanding these disease pathologies and how they influence each other is key to developing effective therapeutics and diagnostic tests. Given that ME/CFS typically has a longer disease duration compared with LC, with symptoms and pathologies evolving over time, ME/CFS may provide insights into the future progression of LC.

10 March, 2024

Insight Into Mechanisms Of ME/CFS

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) involves debilitating fatigue, intolerance to exercise, and cognitive problems. Symptoms tend to get worse after even mild exertion. The cause remains unknown, hampering development of treatments. ME/CFS often develops after an infection—a condition known as post-infectious-ME/CFS (PI-ME/CFS). A research team led by NIH’s Dr. Avindra Nath conducted an in-depth study of 17 people with PI-ME/CFS and 21 healthy volunteers. Their aim was to uncover key features that might be driving PI-ME/CFS. Results appeared in Nature Communications on February 21, 2024.

09 March, 2024

Funding Awarded For Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Research

Two of La Trobe University’s leading Myalgic Encephalomyelitis researchers were awarded grants worth $720,000 to conduct further studies into the condition. The funding from the Mason Foundation, announced today, will help find solutions to ME, also referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome.

09 March, 2024

Study Shows An Increase In Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Following COVID-19 Pandemic

Study findings suggest that biomarkers could provide greater insight into different disease mechanisms and how treatments options could be more beneficial for certain patients.

09 March, 2024

The Blood Holds Clues To Understanding Long COVID

The search for biomarkers could eventually lead scientists to tests and treatments.

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