Irish ME/CFS Association

News Release 10-Mar-2026 Cellular changes linked to depression related fatigue Researchers may have discovered a new way to diagnose and treat major depression at the earliest stage of the condition, giving patients the best opportunity for recovery. Peer-Reviewed Publication University of Queensland FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail Researchers may have discovered a new way to diagnose and treat major depression at the earliest stage of the condition, giving patients the best opportunity for recovery. University of Queensland researchers, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, analysed levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – known as the “energy currency” molecule – in the brain and blood cells of young people with depression. Associate Professor Susannah Tye from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) said this was the first time patterns in these fatigue molecules had been discovered in both the brain and blood stream of young people with major depressive disorder (MDD). “This suggests that depression symptoms may be rooted in fundamental changes in the way brain and blood cells use energy,” Dr Tye said. “Fatigue is a common and hard-to-treat symptom of MDD, and it can take years for people to find the right treatment for the illness.

Interesting new research from Australia:

News Release 10-Mar-2026
Cellular changes linked to depression related fatigue

www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

#Fatigue #depression #MDD

The mind is the brain, and the brain is part of the body. What affects the body can affect the mind!

Long COVID Treatment Guide An evidence-supported guide covering treatments addressing multiple Long COVID symptoms & mechanisms — focused on prescription medication, with a limited set of supplements, OTC medications, procedure...

We're thrilled to release the #LongCovid Treatment Guide! This is a collaboration with @rthm.bsky.social to help patients & providers explore treatment options together.

The guide focuses on 24 medications, but includes a few other interventions for breadth /1

PRESS RELEASE: Is the Royal Australian College of GPs harming patients? MEDIA RELEASE 11 March 2026 Is the Royal Australian College of GPs harming patients? An article in the Australian Journal of General Practice criticises the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) for recommending a therapy that harms up to 75% of patients. Peak patient body Emerge reports that some patients experience irreparable harm. In a dismissive response, the RACGP discounted multiple research studies reporting harm as “bias”. Patient groups have reacted with anger and outrage. “I’ve read that in clinical practice, ‘the care of your patient is meant to be your primary concern’. But that’s not what I see here. The RACGP seems more concerned about justifying themselves than in adapting to provide better care. In continuing to promote graded exercise therapy, they are harming people with ME/CFS like me,” said Sarah from Canberra. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a severe neurological disorder that compromises the ability of 500,000 Australians to work, enjoy leisure activities or perform self care. The disease affects almost 2% of Australians, making it as common as cancer, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. ME/CFS disproportionately affects women.

PRESS RELEASE: Is the Royal Australian College of GPs harming patients?

getthewordout.com.au/press-releas...

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

March is Long COVID Awareness Month Long COVID Awareness Month logo Long COVID Awareness Month is a time for everyone impacted by Long COVID to come together globally in coordinated awareness and action. This effort will highlight the urgent need for prevention, research, funding, and long-term care for people suffering with Long COVID. Hundreds of millions worldwide continue to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, and many are still developing Long COVID. The World Health Organization estimates 10–20% of those infected experience prolonged symptoms. COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project (C19LAP) has created a calendar of events to particpate, with many activities you can do from home.

March is Long COVID Awareness Month

Links:
www.longhauler-advocacy.org
www.longhauler-advocacy.org/lcamonth2026

Screenshot from Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association March 2026 Newsletter
massmecfs.org/resources/ne...

#LongCovid #PASC #PwLC #postcovid #postcovid19 @c19lap.bsky.social

George and his ME/CFS 3-panel cartoon 1st panel: a man outside a door says "sorry, the ME/CFS research update for patients is full". On the door are 2 signs, one saying "latest ME/CFS research for patients" the other saying "schedule: presentation from medical professionals 5 PM" 2nd panel: A thought bubble from a patient "hopefully I can sneak into the later presentation for doctors…" 3rd panel: the same man as in the first panel outside the door says "sorry sir… Talk cancelled, there were no interested doctors"

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More from a series of comic strips about life as a person with ME/CFS.

"George and His ME/CFS"

🎨Rick Menard

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

Or in my case “you have post viral fatigue syndrome” as the Dr stands there holding the door open and the look of ‘f’ck off wasting my time’. And that’s the extent of support the NHS has ever given me. This was a GP who I had a lot of respect for up until then.

#MedSky this👇is what continues to happen to #pwME,
it's how the vast majority of Drs & HCPs respond to #pwME, this attitude has lead to the deaths of #pwME, it's how you broke our trust & why a huge number of us avoid seeing you when we need to.

#ME #MEAwareness

10 March 2026 Chronic fatigue over chronic fatigue reform 4 minute read Chronic Disease Political By Euan Kielly A parliament hearing has heard from ME/CFS advocates on where and how healthcare needs to step up to address the under-recognised field. Long covid was the focus for lawmakers, clinicians, researchers and people with lived experience at today’s annual parliamentary friends of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) gathering.

(Australia)
"Long covid was the focus for lawmakers, clinicians, researchers and people with lived experience at today’s annual parliamentary friends of ME/CFS gathering."

www.medicalrepublic.com.au/chronic-fati...

Sympathetic article

#LongCovid #PASC #PwLC #postcovid #postcovid19 #auscovid19

Polaroid style headshots of Professor David Putrino and Anne Wilson, Emerge Australia CEO, on a light blue background with the Emerge Australia Logo top left on mid blue banner.

🎧 Now Available: #ImaginePodcast Season 8, Ep 1 Prof David Putrino returns 🎧

🔗 Available wherever you listen to podcasts - zurl.co/9ExDk

🙌 Don't miss the other enlightening episodes in Season 8, as we release 1 daily during #LongCOVID Awareness week.

#emergeaus

Social graphic showing a couple sitting close together, with the man’s arm around the woman and a small bandage on his forearm. Top-left text with the AusME logo reads “From one small act comes big hope.” A blue banner asks, “Recently diagnosed with long COVID?” Footer text says contributions can help unlock answers for millions, with the Emerge Australia logo.

Recently diagnosed with long COVID? 💙

Join the AusME Registry to share your experience and support research into #LongCOVID and #MECFS in Australia. Your voice matters.

Sign up: zurl.co/hrxeh

#HealthResearch

Blue background with small green dots and Emerge Australia logo bottom left. "RACGP HANDI Guide - New AJGP review raises concerns about graded exercise recommendation for ME/CFS: Highlights evidence gaps and risk of harm in current guidance"

NEW: The RACGP’s journal, Australian Journal of General Practice: the RACGP HANDI Guide recommending graded exercise for #mecfs is not supported by evidence and should be withdrawn immediately.
#emergeaustralia will continue advocating for its withdrawal.
zurl.co/ZLnQR

Promotional graphic for an ME/CFS research opportunity featuring lab glassware and a microscope in a blue-toned laboratory; logos for Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute and The University of Melbourne appear at the top, and Emerge Australia logo at the bottom. Text reads: “ME/CFS research opportunity” and “How is blood flow changed in those with ME/CFS and OI during exercise and how does that impact PEM?”

Recruitment call 📣

The Baker Institute / Uni of Melbourne are recruiting adults (18+) with ME/CFS or orthostatic intolerance for a study in Melbourne (2 clinic visits, parking + time reimbursed).

More info: zurl.co/tYcRE

#MECFS #EmergeAustralia #BakerInstitute

News Release 9-Mar-2026 Telemedicine remains popular, but who uses it varies widely Peer-Reviewed Publication University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail Use of telemedicine spiked amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but is still used significantly more in the years following crisis compared to the time before, new analysis from Penn Medicine researchers shows. Telemedicine’s usage varies across patient groups as well, the researchers found. They published their work in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Elderly people were more than 50 percent less likely to use telemedicine for their health care visits than going to an office-based appointment. The researchers also found that telemedicine visits were more common in primary care. Those in lower income brackets also more likely (by 6 percent) to make visits via telemedicine than in-office.

News Release 9-Mar-2026

Telemedicine remains popular, but who uses it varies widely

www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

“Telemedicine is no longer just a pandemic workaround—it has become a routine part of care delivery,”

#chronicillness #Spoonie #ChronicallyIll #ChronicIllnesses
#Spoonies

Image of a large crowd of people

ME Research UK:

As part of Germany's National Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases, their 200,000 strong NAKO Health study is being harnessed to allow an invaluable before-and-after view of post infectious diseases to be formed - tinyurl.com/5bp88fst

#MEcfs #LongCovid #PwME #CFS

ME Research UK:

Prof. Dr Wirth and Prof. Dr Steinacker propose that a dysfunctional sodium-potassium pump could represent a central mechanism underlying muscle symptoms, such as weakness and fasciculations (twitches) in severe ME/CFS. tinyurl.com/2neeawah

#MEcfs #PwME #CFS

ME Research UK:

To try and obtain a better understanding of post exertional malasie, a group of researchers – including Professor Leonard Jason – considered whether there might be distinct subtypes.

Read more about what they found here: bit.ly/4r6otTG

#PEM #MEcfs #CFS #PwME

Photo of a doctor with a clipboard

ME Research UK:

Could diagnostic history act as an indicator for ME/CFS? A team of researchers in Germany have investigated.

Find out more: bit.ly/406n84n

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME

George and his ME/CFS 3 panel cartoon 1st panel: a person sticks to head inside a room where 3 people are eating to ask "who is available to see and ME/CFS patient now?" 2nd panel: the 3 people dash away leaving food and drink behind 3rd panel: the person says that the patient "I'm sorry sir, there are currently no doctors available to see you"

2/
More from a series of comic strips about life as a person with ME/CFS.

"George and His ME/CFS"

🎨Rick Menard

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

Extracellular Vesicle Protein and MiRNA Signatures as Biomarkers for Post-Infectious ME/CFS Patients — Martina Seifert et al. "HBA was the only marker among the identified proteins in our quantitative analyses that could be validated by ELISA, exclusively in the piME/CFS cohort. Moreover, ALS/IGFALS, identified by our qualitative approach, also displayed significantly enhanced levels only in the piME/CFS cohort."

From Germany:

Extracellular Vesicle Protein and MiRNA Signatures as Biomarkers for Post-Infectious ME/CFS Patients

www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27...

Screenshot from Science for ME weekly update

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling in COVID-19 positive patients reveals alterations in pathways linked to neurological dysfunction — Zameer et al. "Our study shows that SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with widespread, severity-specific epigenetic changes in peripheral blood, with minimal overlap in differentially methylated regions and genes among mild, moderate, and severe cases."

From USA

Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling in COVID-19 positive patients reveals alterations in pathways linked to neurological dysfunction

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Screenshot from Science for ME weekly update

#LongCovid #NeuroPASC #PASC #PwLC #postcovid #postcovid19

Screenshot of ME Association article/obituary on Robert Courtney

Remembering ME activist (& my friend) Robert "Bob" Courtney, who passed away on March 7, 2018

This is from the @meassociation.org.uk magazine

One can read about some of the specifics of Bob's work here: me-pedia.org/wiki/Robert_...

#MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #MEcfs #CFS #MyalgicE #PwME #ME

UK #ThereForMe Guest post from Tessa Munt MP The Liberal Democrat MP for Wells and Mendip Hills in Somerset and current chair of the APPG on ME covers the case for change for people with ME/CFS, the need for government action, and how people can get involved.

#ThereForMe @thereforme.bsky.social Guest post from Tessa Munt MP @tessamunt.bsky.social

www.thereforme.uk/p/the-case-f...

Screenshot from Science for ME weekly update

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

UK Parliament Sharon Hodgson MP has been appointed as the new Minister for Public Health and Prevention Following Ashely Dalton’s resignation, Sharon Hodgson has been appointed as the replacement to this role in the Department of Health and Social Care. Sharon has previously taken part in the APPG on ME and has tabled written questions on ME/CFS. A video of one of these appearances in Parliament can be found below. Website | Video | Thread

Sharon Hodgson MP has been appointed as the new Minister for Public Health and Prevention

www.actionforme.org.uk/new-minister...

www.s4me.info/threads/brok...

Screenshot from Science for ME weekly update

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

Norwegian guidelines for chronic fatigue and ME/CFS Drafts for these guidelines were published last month by the Directorate of Health to big disappointment for being outdated. Three patient organisations have taken dissent. Patients are calling for a separate guideline for ME/CFS. Blog posts and opinion pieces on the guidelines are shared in the thread. The Norwegian ME Association has a survey, open until March 22nd, where patients with ME or Long Covid can give input for the association's response to the guidelines draft. David Tuller has written two articles summarising the issues: - Norway's Problematic Draft Guideline Combining Long-Term Fatigue and ME/CFS - More on Norway's Problematic Draft Guideline for "Long-Term Fatigue-including ME/CFS" Survey l Thread

Norwegian guidelines for chronic fatigue and ME/CFS

Survey:
www.me-foreningen.no/innspill-til...

Other links:
virology.ws/2026/03/02/t...

virology.ws/2026/03/03/t...

Screenshot from Science for ME weekly update

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

HLTH Chat Podcast Episode 8: Treating ME and Long Covid with Dr Binita Kane @binitakane.bsky.social

m.youtube.com/watch?v=pk00...

Screenshot from Science for ME weekly update

#LongCovid #MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

Post COVID-19 condition is associated with altered regional cerebral blood volume as revealed by dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI — MacIntosh et al. "The findings revealed a pattern of lower rCBV in the PCC group relative to controls in ROIs that have previously been reported in analogous structural and perfusion neuroimaging studies."

From Canada:

Post COVID-19 condition is associated with altered regional cerebral blood volume as revealed by dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI

www.frontiersin.org/journals/neu...

Screenshot from Science for ME weekly update

#LongCovid #NeuroPASC #COVIDBrain #PASC #PwLC #postcovid #postcovid19

Plasma proteomic profile reveals persistent immune activation in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection — Fineschi et al. "our extended proteomic analysis shows that key proinflammatory cytokines characterizing the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection remain dysregulated in individuals with PASC, even long after the initial infection." "This persistent immune perturbation suggests a failure of proper immune resolution that may not require detectable viral persistence in plasma"

From Sweden

Plasma proteomic profile reveals persistent immune activation in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection

www.frontiersin.org/journals/imm...

Screenshot from Science for ME weekly update

#LongCovid #PASC #PwLC #postcovid #postcovid19

Charting the circulating proteome in ME/CFS using cross-system profiling to uncover mechanistic insights — August Hoel et al. "the serum proteome in ME/CFS reveals a distinct pattern characterized by reduced release of intracellular proteins and increased secretion of extracellular proteins, indicating widespread tissue involvement and disturbed systemic homeostasis." "The reduced release of intracellular skeletal muscle proteins appears to represent a distinct ME/CFS phenotype that is supported by our data."

From Norway

Charting the circulating proteome in ME/CFS using cross-system profiling to uncover mechanistic insights

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Screenshot from Science for ME weekly update

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

George and his ME/CFS 3 panel cartoon of an individual at their doctor 1st panel: patient: I suffer fever, vertigo, cold extremities, insomnia, brain fog, shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, noise and light sensitivity... 2nd panel: patient: ... tinnitus, IBS, muscle pain, migraines, sore throat, trouble swallowing, tender lymph nodes, food intolerances... 3rd panel: Dr: okay… I'm going to recommend medication for anxiety

🧵
A talented individual (WantedAlive) thought up these cartoons and employed Rick Menard to illustrate them.

Well done to them for this initiative. 👏👍

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

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