MECFS and Long COVID: Emerging Similarities and Why it Matters

 
 

Massachusetts ME/CFS and FM Association Presents:
ME/CFS and Long COVID:  Emerging Similarities and Why it Matters 

Featuring Dr. Anthony L. Komaroff

Saturday, October 22, 2022
1:00 - 3:00 P.M. ET on Zoom

Dr. Komaroff will talk about “The Emerging Parallels Between ME/CFS and Long COVID”. He will describe not only how the symptoms are similar but also how the two conditions share many of the same physiologic abnormalities and the opportunity Long Covid provides to advance our understanding of ME/CFS and to support clinical trials.

Anthony Komaroff, MD, is the distinguished Simcox-Clifford-Higby Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Senior Physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He has published over 230 research articles and two books. From 1997-2015 he was editor in chief of the Harvard Health Publications Division of Harvard Medical School, the division responsible for disseminating all of the medical school’s health information for the general public. He has been publishing research papers on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) since the late 1980s, and currently serves on the National Institutes of Health’s advisory council for ME/CFS research.

This event is a part of the Association's 2022 Annual Meeting of the Membership.

 

Recording of the Full Event

 

Recording of event in sections:

Welcome and Agenda

MassME Annual Report of the Membership

Dr. Komaroff's introduction and special tribute for his decades of service to the ME/CFS community

Dr. Komaroff - Main Presentation

Q & A with Dr. Komaroff

Wrap Up

Break Video - Letters to MassME

 

YouTube Playlist of All Sections

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Conversations - February 19, 2023

Pacing for PEM: An OT and PT perspective on what it is and how you can use pacing strategies in your daily life

Sunday, February 19, 2023, 4 p.m. EST

 

Amy Mooney, MS OTR/L

Sallie Rediske, MPT

Melinda Maxwell, PT

 

Amy Mooney, MS OTR/L, joined us to present an occupational therapist's perspective of pacing for PEM. Amy described the essential strategies of pacing for PEM and created a framework to analyze activity and tasks within the limitations of PEM. Offering the physical therapist perspective, Melinda Maxwell and Sallie Rediske discussed physiological biofeedback strategies of pacing. This OT/PT team offered examples of how the pacing for PEM framework can support pwME and Long COVID as they engage in redefined meaningful and purposeful activities of daily living.

Following the discussion, the panelists responded to questions from the audience. The entire program lasted about 90 minutes.

Materials from the presentation:

Read more: Sunday Conversations - February 19, 2023


Announcing Nurse Patti's Blog!

We are delighted to announce that Patti Purcell, M.Ed. BSN, RN, will be writing a blog for our website on children and ME/CFS. She brings 30 years of experience, 26 years as a school nurse, to the topic. Check out her latest posts.

 

U.S. Congressmen Visit ME/CFS/Long Covid Researchers at UMass Chan Medical School

 

Cong. McGovern and Raskin
Congressmen Jamie Raskin (D-MD) (left) and  Jim McGovern (D-MA) (right) meeting with researchers and patient advocates at Univ. of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, June 1, 2022

 

Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) and Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) visited with researchers studying ME/CFS (myaglic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) and Long Covid (LC) at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts on June 1, 2022.

This exciting visit was organized by the Selin Lab at UMass and ME advocate Rivka Solomon, in conjunction with the Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association. Fourteen people attended this private meeting, both virtually and in-person.

Read more: U.S. Congressmen Visit ME/CFS/Long Covid Researchers at UMass Chan Medical School


Sunday Conversations - January 22, 2023

Selected readings from The Long Haul, with Ryan Prior and Cynthia Adinig

Sunday, January 22, 2023, 4 p.m. EST

Headshots of Ryan Prior and Cynthia Adinig

Thank you for joining us as journalist and ME patient Ryan Prior read excerpts from his new book, The Long Haul: Solving the Puzzle of the Pandemic’s Long Haulers and How They Are Changing Healthcare Forever, released November 2022 by Post Hill Press. He was joined by marketing specialist and Long COVID advocate Cynthia Adinig, whose experiences obtaining treatment are discussed in the book. Rivka Solomon, long-time ME/LC advocate and MassME member, hosted the meeting.

Following the readings, Ryan and Cynthia responded to questions and comments from Rivka and from the audience. The entire program lasted about 75 minutes.

Click here to view a recording of the presentation.

 

Read more: Sunday Conversations - January 22, 2023