Exciting New ME/CFS and Long-COVID Research

There is SO much new and exciting research happening that will benefit both those of us who've had ME/CFS for years and newer patients just struck down with long-COVID more recently. One source for these new studies is the Open Medicine Foundation (OMF), which has been studying ME/CFS for years.

This fall, OMF hired me to do some freelance writing, reading scientific summaries of five of their new research projects and writing brief, easy-to-understand recaps for patients, their families, and OMF donors. I am happy to now share these summaries with you, each written for laypeople and each presenting some very exciting opportunities for new discoveries about our disease.

Currently, you can access all of these layperson summaries from OMF's News page, but here are some quick links - I promise all scientific terms are explained simply!

Neutrophil Study - this study by Ron Davis and his Stanford colleagues aims to identify neutrophil abnormalities in ME/CFS patients (and yes, don't worry - my summary at the link explains what neutrophils are!). This study could potentially lead to a new biomarker for ME/CFS.

Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM) - conducted by Dr. David Systrom, the top PEM expert, to better understand the causes and effects of PEM (aka exertion intolerance), a feature unique to ME/CFS that is often the most debilitating part of the disease.

Does ME/CFS Have a Biomolecular Signature? - the aim is to identify a unique combination of biochemical characteristics present only in ME/CFS, perhaps leading to diagnostic tests or treatments.

Does ME/CFS Change Molecularly Throughout a Day? - I'm very excited about this study because we patients know that our ME/CFS is constantly changing, day to day and hour to hour, but no one has studied these changes in such detail before!

Raman Spectrometry-Based Biomarker Discovery for ME/CFS  - this study aims to characterize the biochemical signature of ME/CFS, using a specialized kind of testing.

Aren't these exciting studies? I can't wait to hear the results! Scientists are really starting to dig into the nitty-gritty details of our disease.

I also helped OMF find families to interview for this excellent article, The Crisis of Sick Children with ME/CFS and Long-COVID, featuring families from our Parents' group on Facebook.

I think all this new research bodes well for a Happy New Year!