A Cytokine-based model for the pathophysiology of Long COVID symptoms, 2020, Low et al

This contains quite a lot of discussion of ME/CFS, including in the abstract.

 

"These dysregulated microglia are hyperreactive
to signals from the peripheral immune system, producing an exaggerated and prolonged
central cytokine response to an otherwise mild immune challenge. The primed
microglia then become resistant to normal regulation, failing to revert to the quiescent state
after inflammation resolution"

That's how I was imagining my disorder even before I knew about ME: the glial cells somehow getting 'stuck' in an abnormal state.

It's really interesting that long-covid victims get PEM so similarly to PWME.

 

251 references. If nothing else they've put some work into this. Unfortunately over my head so no idea if it makes any sense. But they do seem to have listened to patients about the nature of PEM at least and are not confusing it with post-exertional fatigue. That's always a good start.

CRS=Cytokine Release Syndrome
I quickly googled CRS and many of the results were related to cancer treatment side effects; it appears rituximab can cause this. No idea what to make of that piece of information.

 

It doesn't make any sense because cytokines do not seem to be released either in ME or Covid much. The bit about cancer drugs is incorrect and irrelevant. I am afraid I think this is an advert for a private healthcare facility touting for business selling the same quackery to Long Covid people as toPWME.

 

Yeah, nah.

Old discarded theories become new again?

I'm a bit bored of this superficial cytokine hype that fails to explain any illness, except the appropriately named cytokine-release syndrome.

Who cares then? It's like saying that one of the pieces in your 1200 piece jigsaw puzzle is essential because otherwise your jigsaw would be incomplete - yes it matters, but it is not central...