THE GIST The FDA approved 3 drugs in 3 years (Lyrica (Pregabalin) – 2007), Cymbalta (Duloxetine) – 2008, and Savella (Milnacipran) – 2009) to treat fibromyalgia in the U.S. but studies have shown that most people receive modest benefits from them and don’t stick with them. Bringing a drug to market is a tough business. In the past five years or so at least 4 promising drugs (Mirogabalin, Brincidofovir, Synergy, Rituximab) have failed in large-scale studies.  Tonix’s Tomnya drug – which is heading to the FDA in the second half of this year is an updated version of Flexeril a central nerv ..read more

Thanks to Geoff for providing a narration of this blog https://www.healthrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/HR-Narration-Geoff-Complement.mp3   The complement cascade – it starts with an antigen (foreign substance) and ends with the membrane attack complex that drills a hole in the invader. The “complement” system doesn’t at first glance sound like much. Its name reflects the fact that, in part, it “complements” the immune system; i.e. it triggers immune cells to attack pathogens and clean up damaged cells. It also, though, torpedoes bacteria by drilling a hole into them, causing th ..read more

DeVita didn’t hold back in this book. This is a wrenching, disturbing blog. It’s putatively about the war on cancer, but it’s really about medicine and all the weirdnesses that goes into fighting a disease. You might think that in cancer – that deadliest of foes – egos would take a second seat, but no – not at all. To provide some relief – the story does end well – but on the way to ending well, we get a good look at the underbelly of what goes on in the medical research and treatment fields at major institutions like the National Institutes of Health and major treatment centers. The sausag ..read more

The multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) is back in the chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) news. Health Rising first reported that Copaxone helped some ME/CFS patients back in 2015, and Jarred Younger included it on his list of possible drugs for ME/CFS and fibromyalgia (FM) anti-neuroinflammation drugs way back in 2014. Ron Davis reported that Copaxone made ME/CFS patients’ cells behave normally during the nanoneedle stress test in 2019. Microglial Inhibiting Drugs, Supplements and Botanicals to Combat Neuroinflammation In “Catalytic Antibodies May Contribute to Demyelinat ..read more

Courtney Craig recovered from ME/CFS/FM using both conventional and integrative medicine. Courtney Craig is something of a rarity. For one, it took her years, and a lot of study and trial and error, but she was able to become, in her words, a very “high-functioning” person with chronic fatigue syndrome/fibromyalgia (ME/CFS/FM). Coming down with ME/CFS/FM at age 16 changed her. As she noted on her website, her “academic and career trajectory was fueled by the constant need to understand and overcome the illness”. To that end, she became one of the few nutritionists focused on the needs of ME ..read more

This is the first of two blogs on atypical thyroid issues in diseases like chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), and long COVID. If you’re taking thyroid and aren’t getting the boost you expect, these blogs might be for you. They’re also for people who’ve never had their thyroid thoroughly checked out. In a recent YouTube talk, Jarred Younger stated that he regularly finds people with undiagnosed thyroid disease, diabetes, etc. in his ME/CFS studies. Thyroid hormones regulate the metabolic rate of virtually every cell in the body. The thyroid gland, though, is just the beginn ..read more

THE GIST High blood oxygen levels entering the brain and low blood oxygen levels leaving the brain suggest the brains of ME/CFS patients are sucking up all the energy (oxygen) they can to keep going. Why this is happening isn’t clear. It could be due to low blood flows to the brain, but since the patients were tested while lying down, that seems less likely, at least in the prone position. More likely causes are problems with energy production and/or widespread inflammation. As researchers dig up more and more evidence that neuroinflammation is taking place, much of this blog will focus on i ..read more

Nature named Lisa McCorkell one of the top ten difference makers in science in 2022. The NIH’s RECOVER Initiative is in a strange place. It’s gone through most of its $1.15 billion nest egg without producing anything of note and its critics abound. It does have its supporters. Steven Deek at UCSF called RECOVER “a great success“, and other researchers at the 2023 Keystone Conference on long COVID sang its praises. Plus, it should be noted that NIH was forced to do something unprecedented with RECOVER when it tried to birth a new field of exploration almost overnight. That can’t have been ea ..read more

Sleep Series We’re on Pt. 2 of our sleep series This is the 2nd in a series of (at least) 4 blogs on sleep. Pt. I – Bronc kicked the series off with an interview of Dr. Bruck – a retired sleep researcher whose son has ME/CFS. Pt. II – is an overview of a fascinating talk by two long-term ME/CFS/FM and chronic illness experts: Dr. David Kaufman and Dr. Illene Ruhoy on their Unraveled Patreon podcast. Pt. III – will feature an interview with the leader of the Tonix drug company which is submitting its sleep/pain drug (Tomnya) for FDA approval. Pt. IV –  an interview with Dr. Mullington ..read more

THE GIST Main Takeaway – Increased excitability of a part of the brain that regulates movement, pain, and emotions, and may produce fatigue – the motor cortex – links together fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID.  In each disorder, the researchers proposed that the high motor cortex excitability was an attempt to activate the muscles and get the body moving. When we want to do something, the motor cortex and the areas of the brain associated with it plan how to do it and activate our muscles to act. It may seem odd that a part of the brain that regulates move ..read more