In-depth analysis of research on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Formerly known as ME/CFS Skeptic. https://mecfsscience.org/https://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.orghttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mtsvbskwrm2u1) A short but powerful blog by Anil van der Zee: "Not an Advocate. Not Your Silver Lining Porn. Just Desperation." 👇 https://anilvanderzee.com/not-an-advocate-not-your-silver-lining-porn-just-desperation/24 Aug 2026 08:31 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtsvbskwrm2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mtg6vt2sme2x1) The Science for ME forum has published a factsheet on the "Management of severe and very severe ME/CFS." It was written by Professor Emeritus Jonathan Edwards and various forum members. Looks like a useful reference for ME/CFS patients and their carers. A brief summary 👇 19 Aug 2026 07:18 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtg6vt2sme2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mtbqbjshvs2kThere's more info about the study in this presentation by Professor Rikke Olsen at the Invest in ME conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXhsfH7SncI [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Aug 2026 12:46 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtbqbjshvs2khttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mtb7agbis22o1) 🇩🇰 Looks like there's a new ME/CFS trial in Denmark called 'REenergizeME'. It will test intermittent hypoxiahyperoxia treatment (IHHT) in 104 female patients selected using the international consensus criteria. It includes FUNCAP and several objective outcomes. 17 Aug 2026 07:41 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtb7agbis22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mt6oc3bvj72u1) Many of the genes linked to ME/CFS in DecodeME point to neural synapses. We therefore did an analysis using SynGo, a large database of synaptic genes. Experts in the field grouped these genes into multiple categories based on their location or biological function.16 Aug 2026 07:32 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt6oc3bvj72uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mt56pa7sok2tFor people interested in details of this study on brain scans and hypoxia in ME/CFS. One of the authors wrote a very thoughtful reply to comments about the study on the S4ME forum. Read the discussion here: https://s4me.info/threads/experimental-hypoxia-to-probe-neuro-metabolic-and-vascular-dysregulation-in-me-cfs-a-multimodal-proof-of-concept-mri-study-2026-bader-et-al.51794/post-713695 [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Aug 2026 17:21 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt56pa7sok2thttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mt45kgjm4b2z1) The WE&ME Foundation has created an 'Emerging Leader Award'. It recognises outstanding early-career researchers who combine scientific excellence with meaningful engagement in ME/CFS or related post-infectious diseases. The application deadline is 15th October 2026. 15 Aug 2026 07:28 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt45kgjm4b2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mszplsfkrm2x1) 🇦🇹 Interesting study that tested brain blood flow and metabolites under experimentally induced hypoxia (they gave ME/CFS patients less oxygen while lying under the MRI scanner). The idea is that this might reveal brain differences during a stressor. 14 Aug 2026 08:12 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mszplsfkrm2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3msx7tjbrfu251) Unfortunately, another negative result for immunoadsorption for Long Covid. A small trial that focused only on patients with elevated levels of antibodies against β1/β2-adrenergic and/or M3/M4-muscarinic acetylcholine receptors found no improvement in objective outcomes. 13 Aug 2026 08:25 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3msx7tjbrfu25https://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3msunsjcdfn2x1) 🇺🇸 A new paper in Nature shows that viral reactivation is common in COVID-19, associated with severity and not primarily a consequence of immunosuppression. The association with Long Covid, however, was far from clear. 12 Aug 2026 07:57 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3msunsjcdfn2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mspn5odrkk2u1) 🇨🇦 Disappointing to see that McMaster University is sponsoring a trial of the Lightning Process for Long Covid. The study isn't blinded and only uses subjective outcomes such as fatigue questionnaires so its results will be biased by expectations and therapist instructions 10 Aug 2026 08:02 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mspn5odrkk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mskkatyr5f2m1) 🇩🇪 In the CoCo-Fakt study at Cologne and Ausberg, patients with Long Covid reported doing more and more intense physical activity than controls who had COVID-19 but no long term symptoms. The researchers expected the opposite. 08 Aug 2026 07:27 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mskkatyr5f2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3msi47nprvb2p1) 🇪🇸 A Spanish study measured light exposure using the ActTrust wearable device in 100 ME/CFS patients and 56 healthy controls. Patients had lower average light exposure, reduced amplitude, and greater fragmentation of the light–dark cycle. 07 Aug 2026 08:10 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3msi47nprvb2phttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3msfnjz5sha2b1) 🇺🇸 A new NIH study argues that the fatigue experienced by ME/CFS patients likely has a central (in the brain) rather than a peripheral (in muscle) origin. They put patients in an MRI scanner and recorded electromyography during grip strength exercises. A brief breakdown. 06 Aug 2026 08:42 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3msfnjz5sha2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3msakex7xo32e1) Had a closer look at this randomised trial on pacing from earlier this year. It tested an app, warning system, and wearable device to help Long Covid patients pace, but unfortunately, it didn't have an effect on post-exertional malaise (PEM) and other symptoms. 04 Aug 2026 08:03 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3msakex7xo32ehttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3ms6x47ongi2mI like to read about past medical breakthroughs: it gives me hope that, one day, the same will happen to ME/CFS. In 1989, scientists found the major gene defect that causes cystic fibrosis, as reported in this article in Science. Francis Collins was one of its discoverers. 03 Aug 2026 16:45 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6x47ongi2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3ms5xzfb5tz2o1) Just watched this lecture by Prof. Leonard Jason. His team in Chicago has been developing questionnaires and assessment tools for ME/CFS for several decades. In this talk, he gives an overview of his main findings and also comments on FUNCAP. 03 Aug 2026 07:29 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms5xzfb5tz2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3ms3kwiwcf32e1) 🇩🇪 There's more info about the trial on Aripiprazole (Abilify) that will take place in the Charité. It will enrol 138 PAIS patients using a crossover design so everyone will be on 1 mg of Abilify for a period of 8 weeks. Primary outcome is the Chalder Fatigue Scale. 02 Aug 2026 08:29 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms3kwiwcf32ehttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mrz3hn7q5h2o1) 🇪🇺 Shoutout to Mike Harley, aka Marathon Mike. He has been running marathons in every European country to raise funds for ME/CFS research. Along his trips, he interviews ME/CFS patients to learn more about the situation in their country. 01 Aug 2026 08:47 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrz3hn7q5h2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mrwwwsrszs2i⏱️REMINDER: This ME/CFS research call is currently open to applications. It has a budget of € 120,000-180,000 per project, provided by the WE&ME Foundation. The first stage only requires a short proposals (ca. 4 pages). The deadline is 25 August. [contains quote post or other embedded content]31 Jul 2026 12:21 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrwwwsrszs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mruhmdqzp22w"There’s often a deep stoicism in those of us who have known lengthy illness: a quiet acceptance of bodily suffering that conceals its true burden. For our own survival, we’ve learnt to normalise feeling unwell. We measure our symptoms not against the healthy body, but against its worst potential." [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Jul 2026 12:41 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mruhmdqzp22whttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mrufjzpl3k2uThe English version of this paper on caring for people with severe ME/CFS is now available: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10354-026-01182-3 Summary in the thread below 👇 [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Jul 2026 12:04 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrufjzpl3k2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mrrfvwzvsc23🇳🇱 This paper from Rob Wüst's group was published yesterday in Nature Communications. They found several differences between ME/CFS and LC patients and deconditioned participants who underwent 60 days of bed rest 👇 [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Jul 2026 07:33 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrrfvwzvsc23https://bsky.app/profile/mecfsscience.org/post/3mroxn55mzu2n1) 🇩🇪 The results of the PsyLoCo study have been published. It tested group psychotherapeutic treatment in 48 Long Covid patients. The results showed no significant effect on symptoms, anxiety or depression. 28 Jul 2026 08:12 +0000at://did:plc:ith7dzcppw7ru2enoauywkld/app.bsky.feed.post/3mroxn55mzu2n