May, 2012

Massachusetts changed how we provide health care. Now it wants to change how we pay for it. [WONKBLOG by Ezra Klein at the Washington Post]. This article reviews a payment-reform bill which will change how hospitals are paid in Massachusetts, to a flat-fee for care delivered for a specific individual, or group of individuals.

Help for Primary Care [Doctors for America, March 2012]. A national movement of physicians and medical students who are advocating for affordable health care for everyone. In this item, physicians discuss the important role of and need to restore Primary Care.

April, 2012

Webinar: A Conversation with Novelist Roger King & Wilhelmina Jenkins. ( Research 1st) Date: Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 2:00 PM (EST) – registration required. Read a review of Love and Fatigue in America.

“HHS Announces ICD-10 Delay” (MedPage Today – April 9, 2012) The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) now recommends the deadline for implementing the new ICD-10 diagnosis coding system be extended by one year, to October 1, 2014. Some healthcare providers claim they are not able to put necessary systems in place and fully test these within next 6 months.

“ME Letter March 2012” (Posted by Charles W. Lapp, MD, Hunter-Hopkins Center, P.A.) Check out “Ask The Doctor” blog where patients can submit questions to doctors at the Hunter-Hopkins Center.

For Those Wondering About Progress on Rituximab Trials for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ProHealth.com, March 29, 2012)

Wayne State Researcher Seeks To Link Genome Instability, Chronic Fatigue (CBS Detroit, April 1, 2012)

“Webinar: Cognition & CFS, What Do We know?” (Research1st, CFIDS Association of America)  Presented:  Wed. April 11, 2012, 2:00 PM – full audio is available.  Program faculty: Dr. Gudrun Lange, Professor of Radiology at New Jersey Medical School and Dr. Suzanne Vernon, Scientific Director of the CFIDS Association of America.

March, 2012

“A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized, Clinical Trial of the TLR-3 Agonist Rintatolimod in Severe Cases of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” (PLoS ONE, Mar 14, 2012,  link to free, open access, full text article)  Research results from a 12-site clinical trial of rintatolimod (U.S. brand name,  Ampligen) show objective improvement in severe CFS. Rintatolimod has been used to treat ME/CFS in Canada and several European countries since the late 1990s, but in the U.S. it has been met by many delays and conflicts.

ME/CFS Research

“Dysfunction Junction: The ANS and CFS” (Research1st – CFIDS Association of America) An article by Alan Pocinki, MD, FACP at the George Washington University Hospital highlighting the impact of autonomic nervous system (ANS) on ME/CFS. Also look for links included under Editor’s Note to two more informative articles on ANS dysfunction and orthostatic intolerance.

“CAA Studies Target New Areas In ME/CFS” (Phoenix Rising) Cort Johnson reviews seven studies where were funded at $2 million dollars by the CFIDS Association of America (CAA). This research will examine various aspects/problems of ME/CFS brain, immune cells as well as investigate drug repurposing (i.e., determine usefulness of other approved treatments for ME/CFS).

“VIDEO: MECFS Alert on new California ME/CFS clinic, managing 1,000 patients & running rituximab trial” (ProHealth's ME/CFS Research and News, ProHealth.com) A 6 ½ minute (YouTube) interview with Llewellyn King and Andreas Kogelnik, MD, PhD, director of the newly founded Open Medicine Institute in Mountain View, CA. Some of the projects/research planned by the institute will be a rituximab pilot and multi-site Ampligen trial which will involve a network of key ME/CFS specialists.

Focus on Fibromyalgia
“Fibromyalgia: Misunderstood and Often Misdiagnosed” (AMERICAN NEWS Report) Results from a survey conducted by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) takes a “snapshot” of the current status of FM patients and uses information to launch a public education campaign, Living a Full Life with Fibro.

“Cardiac autonomic impairment and chronotropic incompetence in fibromyalgia” (da Cunha Ribeiro et al, Arthritis Research & Therapy 2011, 13:R190 doi:10.1186/ar3519) Research by a team of rheumatologists at University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, Brazil, that found some patients with FM experienced various cardiac irregularities in response to exercise.

“Autonomic dysfunction in women with fibromyalgia” — an editorial in response to the article published by Ribeiro and colleagues in Arthritis Research & Therapy, supporting the finding of autonomic dysfunction at rest in FM patients.

“Milnacipran Beneficial for Fibromyalgia in Patients With Inadequate Response to Duloxetine” (Monthly Prescribing Reference (MPR)   Review of two FM-specific medications (i.e., milnacipran (brand name, Savella) and duloxetine (brand name, Cymbalta) that includes study observations/ recommendations made by Dr. Lucinda Bateman at The Fatigue Consultation Clinic in Salt Lake City, UT.

February, 2012

"The NIH on ME/CFS in 2012: Pt II - the STUDIES!" Cort Johnson, the creator of the Phoenix Rising website, writes about the challenges and rigorous procedures that investigators face when applying to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research grants. This investigative piece includes a comprehensive list of ME/CFS research and clinical trials, in progress or about to end, funded by the NIH.

"Now Available for Viewing" A series of  videos made by Dr. Kenneth Friedman for cfsKnowledgeCenter, covering physiological aspects of ME/CFS, causes, biomarkers, and more. Once at the ME-CFSCommunity home page (part of the cfsKnowledgeCenter organization), please follow their instructions on how to sign in and access the videos and other valuable information.

"Understanding the Immune System" A good, basic  explanation, with illustrations, of the immune system response prepared by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Once at the NIAID site, click/select desired subtopic to view from the left side bar.
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“New ME/CFS Study Looking for Participants” (Learning to Live with CFS, Jan. 24, 2012) ME/CFS patients and healthy controls living within 100 miles of New York City are needed for a study conducted by Dr. Susan Levine which will focus on infectious agents in ME/CFS.

“Chronic fatigue syndrome and impaired peripheral pulse characteristics on orthostasis–a new potential diagnostic biomarker” (Physiological Measurement, vol. 33, p. 231-241, 2012) An in-depth evaluation of pulse wave analysis in CFS patients and its potential use as illness biomarker.  

“New Understanding of Chronic Pain” Although this Science Daily article does not directly discuss ME/CFS or fibromyalgia, it  points out how metabolites can give direct indication of disease biochemistry and lead to potential treatments for chronic pain (which is present in ME/CFS and FM).

“Loss of capacity to recover from acidosis on repeat exercise in chronic fatigue syndrome: a case-control study” (PubMed, Feb, 2012)  Research published in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation that provides more evidence in how exercise impacts individuals with CFS differently from healthy controls.

January, 2012

"My Pain Diary: Chronic Pain Management v1.982 for iPhone Now Available" (PRWeb, Jan. 19, 2012)  A new app now available for iPhone and iPod Touch offers a convenient/ effective way for patients to record, report, and manage their chronic pain conditions.

“ME/CFS Why Do I Feel This Way” (YouTube, Jan. 16, 2012)  Dr. Kenneth J. Friedman describes what is happening in ME/CFS that causes patients to feel as they do in this short, but informative video (less than 4 minutes) created by cfsKnowledgeCenter.