In the News

03 May, 2024

Unveiling The Link: Exploring Muscle Oxygen Saturation In Fibromyalgia And Its Implications For Symptomatology And Therapeutic Strategies

A study published in Medical Gas Research.

03 May, 2024

How Telehealth Companies Approach Treating Complex, Chronic Diseases

Telehealth companies are trying to bring virtual care to patients with challenging, hard-to-diagnose chronic conditions like long-term COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, a condition that results in an elevated heart rate, dizziness and fatigue upon standing up. Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes speaks with STAT's chronic disease reporter Isabella Cueto for a deeper dive into how telehealth startups find opportunity in long-ignored chronic diseases.

02 May, 2024

Long COVID: Millions Have It. Why Do We Still Know So Little?

The CDC estimates 17 million Americans experience long COVID. What have patients and doctors learned about the mysterious illness?

02 May, 2024

Looking at the causes behind mobility issues

Dr Keith Roach, MD, writes in US publication the Durant Democrat: "Exercise helps the vast majority of people improve their mobility, but there are exceptions. Many people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome are intolerant of exercise, and overdoing it can lead their condition to worsen. This syndrome has also been known as systemic exertion intolerance disease. Well-meaning physicians, friends and family might have recommended exercise to a patient, which could have caused them to have a flare-up."

01 May, 2024

The Long Path Of Long COVID

It's been more than four years since Covid first appeared and upended our lives, but for thousands of Australians, Long Covid has left them dealing with symptoms long after the original infection. What do we know, and what we still need to know, about the symptoms, the treatment, and the policies around Long Covid?

01 May, 2024

Fraud, Waste And Abuse: How Some Doctors Are Exploiting Medicare And Turning Patients Into 'Cash Cows'

Lisa Crotty is one of several Australian chronic pain sufferers whose medical bills reveal anaesthetists apparently billing for fictitious services and hospitals, anaesthetists and physicians submitting inflated bills. It follows a Four Corners investigation into the chronic pain industry, which exposed over treatment and questionable billing practices in the multi-billion-dollar sector. The revelations prompted Federal Health Minister Mark Butler to ask his department to "urgently" investigate the matters further. There are also now urgent calls for reforms.

01 May, 2024

Under Half Of Fibro Patients Use Evidence-Based Drugs

Less than half of fibromyalgia patients are using evidence-based medication to manage their symptoms due to the high costs of the drugs, research has shown. The Monash University study found that 48.5% of participants whose medical charts were reviewed used at least one evidence-based medication to manage their symptoms. “Australian fibromyalgia patients use a wide variety of therapeutics to manage their symptoms and are more likely to use medications that are not evidence-based,” the researchers said in Internal Medicine Journal.

30 April, 2024

Cognitive Profile In Multiple Sclerosis And Post-COVID Condition: A Comparative Study Using A Unified Taxonomy

Post-COVID condition (PCC) and multiple sclerosis (MS) share some clinical and demographic features, including cognitive symptoms and fatigue. Some pathophysiological mechanisms well-known in MS, such as autoimmunity, neuroinflammation and myelin damage, have also been implicated in PCC. In this study, we aimed to compare the cognitive phenotypes of two large cohorts of patients with PCC and MS, and to evaluate the relationship between fatigue and cognitive performance. Cross-sectional study including 218 patients with PCC and 218 with MS matched by age, sex, and years of education. Patients were evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological protocol and were categorized according to the International Classification of Cognitive Disorders system. Fatigue and depression were also assessed. Cognitive profiles of PCC and MS largely overlapped, with a greater impairment in episodic memory in MS, but with small effect sizes. The most salient deficits in both disorders were in attention and processing speed. The severity of fatigue was greater in patients with PCC. Still, the correlations between fatigue severity and neuropsychological tests were more prominent in the case of MS. There were no differences in the severity of depression among groups. Our study found similar cognitive profiles in PCC and MS. Fatigue was more severe in PCC, but was more associated with cognitive performance in MS. Further comparative studies addressing the mechanisms related to cognitive dysfunction and fatigue may be of interest to advance the knowledge of these disorders and develop new therapies.

30 April, 2024

Ulverston Woman Shaves Head For Friend Lost To Suicide

A Welsh woman has completed the brave act of shaving off her long locks to honour her friend who lost his life to suicide. 27-year-old Maya Holligan, from Haverthwaite, is raising money for Cumbrian mental health charity Every Life Matters as well as donating the hair to alopecia charities. She chose the head shave as she suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and is unable to do charity work or events.

29 April, 2024

Psychiatry’s Somatic Awakening: New Evidence Challenges The Status Quo

We are now able to analyze huge amounts of data very quickly, often with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), allowing us to discover relationships that were previously overlooked.