Kalliope
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Science in the News - HARVARD Kenneth C. Griffin
Blog by Ya'el Courtney
Quote:
The first well-documented observation of PAIS was Post-Polio Syndromein the 1870s, where people developed muscular degeneration and weakness 15-40 years after infection with poliomyelitis. Since then, PAIS has been noted after infection by many viruses – from influenza to the common cold to Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) (also known as ‘mono’ or glandular fever).
It was not until the 1980s that doctors began to recognize similar chronic conditions as serious medical problems, and a new diagnosis was born: myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS. However, attempts to identify a single infectious agent as the cause of ME/CFS have been unsuccessful, complicating efforts to find a cure.
This brings us to a compelling proposition: could ME/CFS be more accurately described as a spectrum of post-acute infectious syndromes? This perspective suggests that various infectious agents could trigger a prolonged, systemic response, manifesting in remarkably consistent symptoms across different cases.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore this hypothesis, as the similarities between long COVID and ME/CFS are striking.
https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/...-unexplained-post-acute-infectious-syndromes/
Blog by Ya'el Courtney
Quote:
The first well-documented observation of PAIS was Post-Polio Syndromein the 1870s, where people developed muscular degeneration and weakness 15-40 years after infection with poliomyelitis. Since then, PAIS has been noted after infection by many viruses – from influenza to the common cold to Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) (also known as ‘mono’ or glandular fever).
It was not until the 1980s that doctors began to recognize similar chronic conditions as serious medical problems, and a new diagnosis was born: myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS. However, attempts to identify a single infectious agent as the cause of ME/CFS have been unsuccessful, complicating efforts to find a cure.
This brings us to a compelling proposition: could ME/CFS be more accurately described as a spectrum of post-acute infectious syndromes? This perspective suggests that various infectious agents could trigger a prolonged, systemic response, manifesting in remarkably consistent symptoms across different cases.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore this hypothesis, as the similarities between long COVID and ME/CFS are striking.
https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/...-unexplained-post-acute-infectious-syndromes/
