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

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Research Opportunity Do you live with long COVID and experience fatigue, brain fog, sleep problems, depression or anxiety? Researchers at Deakin University are testing whether gut-based therapy (faecal microbiome transplantation, FMT) could improve outcomes for people with long COVID. What’s involved: 5 visits at University Hospital Geelong 3 FMT or placebo enemas Blood, urine & stool samples Garmin watch to track activity, sleep & heart rate Online questionnaires you can complete at home Parking costs covered Eligibility: Adults 18–65 with a long COVID diagnosis and moderate to severe symptoms. Interested? Learn more by contacting the GLOW team at CTUClinicalTrialsUnit@barwonhealth.org.au | (03) 4215 3078

Interesting long Covid research study recruiting in Victoria, Australia

#LongCovid #PASC #PwLC #postcovid #postcovid19 #LC #Covidlonghaulers #auscovid19

Persistent lung and vascular inflammation in mild to moderate COVID-19 survivors detected by ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT: A quantitative imaging study with implications for cardiovascular risk — Verma et al. "this new analysis demonstrates strong positive correlations between lung and vascular inflammation, suggesting that the ongoing lung inflammatory response may reflect broader systemic inflammatory activity and could represent a potential mechanism underlying the increased CV risk reported post-COVID."

From Australia:

Persistent lung & vascular inflammation in mild to moderate COVID-19 survivors detected by ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT: A quantitative imaging study with implications for cardiovascular risk

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

Screenshot from Science for ME update

#auscovid19 #LongCovid #PASC

The Tyee This Physicist Says We Don't Take COVID Seriously Enough A thorough article with interview with MIT-researcher Yaneer Bar-Yam and a summary of the many harms Covid infections may cause and what preventative measures that should be taken . “The fight in the big pandemic public health story,” says Bar-Yam, “has moved from proving COVID is airborne to building a public health system that acts like it.”

This Physicist Says We Don't Take COVID Seriously Enough

thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...

Screenshot from latest Science for ME weekly update

#LongCovid #novid #COVID19 #COVID #SARSCoV2 #auscovid19 #CovidIsNotOver

Australia Good article in Crikey on the serious social and economical consequences of Long COVID. "The result of infection is lasting symptoms. The result of lasting symptoms: suffering. As the report of the committee into long COVID says, long COVID causes “lost earnings, impacts on household finances, and, in some cases, an inability to work or to extend care to family members including children”."

"Long COVID is becoming a serious social & economic issue for Australia: Addressing this health challenge is vital to getting many people back participating fully in their lives"

www.crikey.com.au/2024/12/02/l...

Image from Science for ME update

#LongCovid #PASC #PwLC #auscovid19

From Australia:

"In this study we showed that the reduced expression of LILRB1 and LILRB2 alone discriminated a small pilot cohort of Long COVID PBMC samples from COVID recovered controls without overlap."

#LongCovid #AusCovid19 #AusCovid #PASC

emerge ME/CFS and Long COVID Multiple Systems Impacted Grey & white matter abnormalities Neuroinflammation HPA axis dysregulation Reduced cerebral blood flow Mitochondrial dysfunction Impaired cellular energy production Dysautonomia Reduced VO2 Reduced preload and blood volume Endothelial dysfunction Impairment in NK and T cell function B cell abnormalities Elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines lon channel dysfunction Gut dysbiosis Increased gut permeability Muscle bioenergetic dysfunction Altered muscle membrane excitability

Emerge Australia sharing these ME/CFS clinical education resources at GPCE in Melbourne in November

#MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MEcfs #CFS #PwME
#LongCovid #auscovid19

AusME Biobank "It feels good to contribute to something that may yield results for those of us living with ME/CFS & long COVID." Image of someone giving blood

Sign up to the AusME Registry today to express your interest in becoming a blood donor for the AusME Biobank.

👉 Ready to join us? Sign up today: vist.ly/3mnjqge

#LongCovid #AusCovid19 #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MEcfs #CFS #PwME

AusME Biobank "It feels good to contribute to something that may yield results for those of us living with ME/CFS & long COVID." Image of someone giving blood

Sign up to the AusME Registry today to express your interest in becoming a blood donor for the AusME Biobank.

👉 Ready to join us? Sign up today: vist.ly/3mnjqge

#LongCovid #AusCovid19 #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MEcfs #CFS #PwME

Abstract Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long COVID are debilitating multisystemic conditions sharing similarities in immune dysregulation and cellular signaling pathways contributing to the pathophysiology. In this study, immune exhaustion gene expression was investigated in participants with ME/CFS or long COVID concurrently. RNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from participants with ME/CFS (n = 14), participants with long COVID (n = 15), and healthy controls (n = 18). Participants with ME/CFS were included according to Canadian Consensus Criteria. Participants with long COVID were eligible according to the case definition for “Post COVID-19 Condition” published by the World Health Organization. RNA was analyzed using the NanoString nCounter Immune Exhaustion gene expression panel. Differential gene expression analysis in ME/CFS revealed downregulated IFN signaling and immunoglobulin genes, and this suggested a state of immune suppression. Pathway analysis implicated dysregulated macrophage activation, cytokine production, and immunodeficiency signaling. Long COVID samples exhibited dysregulated expression of genes regarding antigen presentation, cytokine signaling, and immune activation. Differentially expressed genes were associated with antigen presentation, B cell development, macrophage activation, and cytokine signaling. This investigation elucidates the intricate role of both adaptive and innate immune dysregulation underlying ME/CFS and long COVID, emphasizing the potential importance of immune exhaustion in disease progression.

New from NCNED in Australia

Immune exhaustion in ME/CFS and long COVID

Free fulltext:
insight.jci.org/articles/vie...

#LongCovid #MEcfs #CFS #PwME #auscovid19

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"individuals with long COVID displayed a more complex neuroinflammatory response profile compared to the COVID-19 recovered group."

#AusCovid19

$15 million in research for long COVID The Australian Government is investing nearly $14.5 million into research to improve our understanding of the impacts of Long COVID on individuals, the community and the Australian health system.

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Press release:

The Australian Government is investing nearly $14.5 million into research to improve our understanding of the impacts of #LongCOVID on individuals, the community & the Australian health system.

www.health.gov.au/ministers/th...

#auscovid19 #PwLC

Cardiovascular symptoms of PASC are associated with trace-level cytokines that affect the function of human pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution

Australian preprint:

Cardiovascular symptoms of PASC are associated with trace-level cytokines that affect the function of human pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#LongCovid #AusCovid19 #PostCovid

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AusME Registry The Australian ME/CFS and Long COVID (AusME) Registry is an online study of individuals aged 12yrs+ with ME/CFS or Long COVID, as well as healthy volunteers. Your unique experiences and insights matter, and your participation only accelerates our progress in advancing knowledge. Together, we can work toward a brighter future for those affected by ME/CFS and Long COVID, offering hope and support to countless individuals. JOIN THE AUSME TODAY REGISTRY AND HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCEJOIN THE AUSME TODAY REGISTRY AND HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The Australian ME/CFS & #LongCOVID (AusME) Registry is an online study of individuals aged 12yrs+ with ME/CFS and Long #COVID, as well as healthy volunteers

Link in image
ausmeregistry.org

So far "11 projects Australia-wide utilising the AusME Registry"

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #auscovid19

Join the AusME Registry today! AusME REGISTRY. The Australian ME/CFS and Long COVID (AusM) Registry is an online study of individuals aged 12yrs+ with ME/CFS or Long COVID, as well as healthy volunteers. Your unique experiences and insights matter, and your participation only accelerates our progress in advancing knowledge. Together, we can work toward brighter future for those affected by ME/CFS and Long COVID, offering hope and support to countless individuals. JOIN THE AUSME TODAY REGISTRY AND HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE

"Join the AusME Registry today!"
ausmeregistry.org

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #LongCovid #auscovid19