USA: News from the Workwell Foundation.

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Dear Friends,

As we approach the end of 2023, Workwell invites you to consider making a tax-deductible gift to support our science. Our work has never been more critical as we better understand the similarities between Long COVID and ME/CFS. We will continue striving to fill gaps in the research.

We are excited about our new collaboration with STAT Health in the coming year. We can't wait to learn more about the impacts of post-exertional malaise on blood flow to the head, an essential driver of orthostatic intolerance. Your donations will help to fund this research.

Please see our latest blog to learn more about our work with the new STAT in-ear wearable.

We have learned to operate efficiently on a small budget and know how to stretch our donation dollars. Your contribution will allow us to continue delivering peer-reviewed research papers, videos, webinars, educational courses, disability testing, advocacy, and patient resources.

We are setting our sights on 2024 and wish you a safe and healthy holiday season! We appreciate your support!

Sincerely,

The Workwell Team

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Blood Flow to the Head in a pwME experiencing PEM. A Case Report.

This work lays the foundation for a larger study into the role of cerebral hypoperfusion.
We've known for many years that people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) experience a reduction in cerebral blood flow (CBF) when upright, even in the absence of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) or orthostatic hypotension. We also know that orthostatic intolerance symptoms worsen in post-exertional malaise (PEM).

In this proof-of-concept study, we asked: what happens to CBF in response to an exercise stressor in a person with ME compared to a healthy control subject?

Measuring CBF takes expensive equipment. Trying to measure CBF in any position or movement besides sitting or lying down is practically a non-starter. It is also not something a person can do and interpret for themselves.

Enter the Lumia™ in-ear device. It's a reliable measure of blood flow to the head, which correlates with CBF. But can it show us anything about PEM?

That's what we aimed to find out in this project, which was recently published in the Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal.

Here's what we learned

The person we tested with ME had a significant drop in blood flow to the head during PEM: 17% while supine and 23% while standing. The healthy person did not have a decline.

We observed the characteristic functional decline of PEM, with a 34% decrease in workload at the ventilatory anaerobic threshold between tests during a two-day cardiopulmonary exercise test. There was no decrease in the healthy person.
  • We observed chronotropic incompetence during PEM, characterized by a 10% decrease in peak heart rate. There was an increase in the healthy subject.
  • Orthostatic intolerance worsened during PEM, including symptoms of dizziness, cognitive issues, and tingling. The healthy person had no symptoms.
  • Recovery time was 12 days for the person with ME, compared to less than 1 day for the healthy person.
This work lays the foundation for a larger study into the role of cerebral hypoperfusion in PEM and the utility of wearable diagnostics in ME diagnosis, care, and research.


 
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