Yale Researchers: Stress Hormone Cortisol may Explain Long COVID

Public health officials are scrambling to understand long COVID, the condition in which patients report symptoms like fatigue, muscle weakness, and “brain fog” months after infection. A new study released last Wednesday shows one way doctors might diagnose who has the chronic condition and indicates a possible way to treat it.

Source: Stress hormone cortisol may explain long COVID—and how to treat it, Yale researchers say | Fortune

NIH VideoCast – Beyond the Symptom: The Biology of Fatigue

In September 2021 the NIH hosted a virtual workshop entitled Beyond the Symptom: Biology of Fatigue to bring together individuals who do research on fatigue, health care providers who see patients with fatigue, and individuals who have fatigue and patient advocates. This workshop was a joint workshop of the NIH Blueprint Neuroscience Research Program and the Sleep Research Society.

The entirety of the workshop can be streamed on the links below:

NIH VideoCast – Beyond the Symptom: The Biology of Fatigue (Day 1)

NIH VideoCast – Beyond the Symptom: The Biology of Fatigue (Day 2)

£3.2m Funding for DecodeME, the Largest Ever ME/CFS DNA Study

Co-Principal Investigator Dr Luis Nacul, CureME Biobank, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, says: “Unlocking the genetic susceptibility to ME/CFS is a key part of understanding what causes ME/CFS and the disease mechanisms involved. This, in conjunction with other biomedical research into ME/CFS, should finally pave the way to better diagnosis and the development of specific treatments for this debilitating disease.”

Source: Patients, scientists and advocates celebrate £3.2m funding for DecodeME, the largest ever ME/CFS DNA study – DecodeME

Will COVID-19 Lead to an Explosion of ME/CFS Cases?

Noting that studies indicated the virus is able to spread throughout the brain including the hypothalamus, Moldofsky proposed the virus had produced a chronic neuroinflammatory state affecting sleep, pain sensitivity and energy levels. That hypothesis, of course, is identical to similar ones proposed for ME/CFS and fibromyalgia.

Source: Will COVID-19 Leave An Explosion of ME/CFS Cases in its Wake? | simmaronresearch.com

Early Research on Existing Drug Compounds via Supercomputing Could Combat Coronavirus

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have used Summit, the world’s most powerful and smartest supercomputer, to identify 77 small-molecule drug compounds that might warrant further study in the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which is responsible for the COVID-19 disease outbreak.

Source: Early research on existing drug compounds via supercomputing could combat coronavirus | ORNL

Study: The Prevalence of Pediatric ME

Researchers screened a random sample of 10,119 youth ages 5-17 from 5,622 households. Of those who screened positive over the phone, 165 youth went on to medical and psychiatric examinations. Following evaluations, a team of physicians made final diagnoses. Youth were given a diagnosis of ME/CFS if they met criteria for case definitions. Of the 42 youth diagnosed with ME/CFS, only 2 (4.8%) had been previously diagnosed with the illness.

Source: The Prevalence of Pediatric Myalgic Encephalomyelitis | News | Newsroom | DePaul University, Chicago