Unrest - reviews and general articles

Jonathan Edwards said:
So far we do not have any reliable evidence for antivirals being of any benefit ME/CFS so it is reasonable to query exactly the sequence of events people are reporting. But without knowing what virus might be the target of the drug it is hard to predict how quickly one might expect a response.
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Ohhh I get it tx!
Now about if antiviral drug Help Cfs. Some Cfs develop other immune deficiencies. In my case I have super low NK cell function ( my activity is a seperate issue which is associated with cfs) this fenomenum is acepted by all doctors and there is a existing international health code, so nobody will argue it. This is called NK cell dysfunction. The acepted treatment is antovirals for the known herpes reactivations,
I ahve done great on antivirals for my nK cell issue.
I have known others patients too. But I ahve meet others where the particular issue is an iGG or IGM deficiency..... ( and all other bizare things) which other treatment does better ( IVG in the case of my igg friends).
So I think if you have Cfs you need to dig deep into immune system and see what is your particular challenge. And At this point, it is the symptom ( depressed immune system) I understand, but you have to treat it or you will Be worst ( Cfs + whatever inmune deficiency of your body’s choice).
 
Seven said:
In my case I have super low NK cell function ( my activity is a seperate issue which is associated with cfs) this fenomenum is acepted by all doctors and there is a existing international health code, so nobody will argue it. This is called NK cell dysfunction. The acepted treatment is antovirals for the known herpes reactivations,
I ahve done great on antivirals for my nK cell issue.
I have known others patients too. But I ahve meet others where the particular issue is an iGG or IGM deficiency..... ( and all other bizare things) which other treatment does better ( IVG in the case of my igg friends).
So I think if you have Cfs you need to dig deep into immune system and see what is your particular challenge. And At this point, it is the symptom ( depressed immune system) I understand, but you have to treat it or you will Be worst ( Cfs + whatever inmune deficiency of your body’s choice).
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You may not be aware that I am a retired professor of immunology, @Seven.

NK function tests are well established but nobody knows what they really mean. In the 1980s it was hoped that they would tell us something clinically useful but in the subsequent thirty years most immunologists have largely given up bothering with them, even for research. At one time it was suggested that NK function might be abnormal in PWME but most recent studies have failed to find anything consistent. So I think at the moment we have to say that we do not really have any good evidence for any problem with NK cells in ME/CFS.

And whether or not there are change on NK tests does not really have anything to do with whether or not antivirals are used. Antivirals are used when there is good evidence for active viral infection being likely. The studies in ME/CFS show no increase in active viral infection. I am not aware of anyone with ME/CFS having a documented ongoing viral infection.

And again for immunoglobulins, there is no evidence as far as I know for low Ig levels being more common. IVIG has been used in ME/CFS but not because of low Ig levels. The use of IVIG in autoimmune disease has nothing to do with low Ig.

We have dug deep into the immune system over a period of twenty years or so and not found anything consistent. There is certainly no consistent evidence for immune deficiency as far as I am aware. A major part of the fight for better ME research consists in critique of treatments based on dubious psychological theories but equally there is a need to critique the use of drugs like antivirals when we have no good reason to think they are of use. We need a level playing field.
 
A Reddit user has posted Unrest to the Documentaries sub-reddit. The post has gained an impressive number of up-votes and the discussion, from a quick scan, seems to be mostly reasonable, although there's not a lot of discussion of the merits or otherwise, of Unrest as a documentary.
 
Fairly short article but to the point.
"
Documentary shows pain caused by chronic fatigue syndrome

“It’s all in your head.” Try telling that to someone who is so riddled with pain and fatigue they are confined to their beds, or if they do get out once in a while, it’s with great difficulty."

"You would hope things would have changed after almost 30 years."

http://www.miningjournal.net/opinio...hows-pain-caused-by-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/
 
The Wall Street Journal: A Filmmaker's Personal Look at Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Interviewing others, including teenagers and people who have been sick for decades, both inspired her and made her angry about the state of health care and the way doctors often dismiss CFS patients. “That really helped me frame it as a social-justice issue,” she says. Her film highlights campaigns to fund research to better diagnose and treat chronic fatigue syndrome.
 
A surprisingly good review (remember the Vogue India article?). I couldn't help but wonder if the author has a personal connection to chronic illness because it was so empathetic.
As @Trish said, I liked that she put the topic in a wider context:
While we tend to think of illness narratives only as personal stories only, Unrest hints at a larger cultural epidemic: namely, the widespread denial or discounting of that which is other to us
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I get that Vogue "needs" aesthetic arty pictures but I was also baffled that they used a picture totally unrelated to the topic as Jen Brea looks like a model herself and Unrest offers some aesthetic and professional pictures. Especially as the article states:
If chronic illness remains invisible in the arts and in public conversations—as difficult to see as its symptoms often are—these conditions will continue to be ignored
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Trish said:
Why on earth illustrate it with a naked woman?
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The photographer Irving Penn was a famous fashion/fine art photographer. He is especially known for that b&w shadowy style, which feels in its own way quite appropriate for ME. Since it's a fashion magazine, I think it's a classy choice, really kind of emphasizes the invisible illness aspect.

Plus, he worked a lot for Vogue, so they likely own rights to it.
 
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