News from Australia

My son repeated this little biochemistry department maxim a number of times when he did his biochemistry course years ago: medicine is what you do when you can't manage biochemistry.

 

Recent radio segment on ABC Life Matters, featuring ME/CFS patient Sara Gingold, Emerge Australia CEO Anne Wilson, and Associate Professor of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Mount Sinai Health System, Dr David Putrino. The segment runs for about 20 mins.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionationa...ing-the-spotlight-on-chronic-fatigue/13797106

In the segment, David talks about his clinic using autonomic rehabilitation with Long COVID patients. I did a bit of digging around to find out what this was. It seems that David and his team utilise this approach (which they call autonomic conditioning therapy) with people with long COVID who have pulmonary fibrosis (lung damage). They acknowledge that it may not be suitable for people with long COVID who don’t have PF.

I found an outline of what the program consists of (see screenshot. Sorry my brain couldn’t figure out how to get the image to be embedded in the post!). In short, it’s breathwork and exercise to improve lung function. Good that they are using objective outcome measures to determine the effectiveness of their program (6 and 10 minute walk test, and orthostatic measurements like HR and BP).

Sources:
https://www.health.ny.gov/commissio...y_approaches_long_covid_care/docs/putrino.pdf

https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/defa...-4c92-a685-dd1d59658d4e.pdf?sfvrsn=c0c5e9db_5

 

Was she interested in finding out?

 

ABC News article on NCNED research into ME/CFS and its application to Long COVID.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-18/long-covid-and-chronic-fatigue-links/100916990

 

This is another excellent article about severe ME/CFS again featuring Ella Engel:

It's great to see severe ME/CFS represented so accurately in the media. Ella's family are doing a great job.

 

Eye movements may be key to chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis

“What we’re trying to do is generate a unique ME/CFS signature based on characteristic changes to eye movements, a behaviourial signature that is specific to the disorder that can be used to help diagnose it and monitor the effects of any treatments.”

Associate Professor Fielding and her team will develop the clinically useful test using ocular-motor, machine learning and neuroimaging techniques.

“We’re using video-oculography, which is basically high-powered cameras that record the eye movements in response to a set of simple stimuli on the screen.

“People with ME/CFS are typically extremely fatigued – we need something very quick that gives a snapshot of how they’re performing.”​

 

Disability advocates condemn neglect of chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers
By Natalia Hodgins | 30 March 2022

https://independentaustralia.net/li...mn-neglect-of-chronic-fatigue-sufferers,16204

 

A news article about the establishment of a Long Covid clinic in Canberra:

According to someone with ME/CFS who has been to this same rehabilitation clinic, they only offer GET for ME/CFS patients. I'm sure it will be similarly useful for those with Long Covid

In Adelaide, the RAH has set up a similar clinic:

Again, it appears to be set up around 'rehabilitation' and involves 'physiotherapy, exercise physiology and mental health teams'.

ETA, according to a few people on social media with friends with Long Covid, doctors here have been using the existing (out of date) Australian ME/CFS guidelines which recommend GET and CBT to guide treatment for Long Covid.

 

The usual box ticking exercise - when critics say, what is the government doing, they can pretend they're being helpful.

 

Emerge Australia are doing a pretty good job of highlighting the inadequate support available for people with ME/CFS and, now, Long Covid. I found this article a little disjointed and confused and was annoyed by the emphasis on "fatigue" and "chronic fatigue" (which I'd say reflects on the journalist rather than the message):

With the Federal election weeks away, Emerge is also encouraging Australians to email their State of the Nation report to their MPs. There is a template email and a form on their website.

 

Email to MPs sent.

I think the report is very good and carries more weight because of the foreward by Prof Peter Doherty.

 

Long COVID clinics likely to be required across the country
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/long-covid-clinics-likely-to-be-required-across-th

‘We know from the experience overseas that people were going to get long COVID, and we believe that now we’re playing catch up and it’s important that those clinics get established urgently.’

And, given the breadth of care that is sometimes required for these patients, Dr Willett says it would be ‘prudent’ for authorities to start planning multidisciplinary clinics in jurisdictions where they are not currently established.
...
‘You’ve got to have access to different specialists, like respiratory, rheumatology, infectious diseases, cardiology, and general physicians,’ he said.

‘Then you’ve got to have allied health, physios, dietitians, exercise physiology – it’s a very difficult model to fund in a private system.
...
He is also hopeful that referrals to the clinics will eventually be expanded to incorporate patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

‘We know there are plenty of patients with this syndrome who haven’t had COVID but have got the same symptoms,’ Dr Byrne said.

‘It’ll be interesting to see if efforts on data, research and treatment strategies come out that can help our other long-term chronic fatigue patients post-viral infection.’​

Too bad the RACGP has been blocking those efforts for years and played a direct role in the absolute nothingness that exists today in Oz in the form of useless CBT & harmful GET. Where will be the accountability for that? The organization was vehemently hostile to changing from the current failed paradigm.

 

On a non-medical issue, electricity and gas prices are set to soar here by up to five fold or more. I think anyone on limited income needs to be aware of this. Given that the main issues are global, Covid and the Ukraine war, this might apply to many other countries.

 

Another (presumed cardiovascular) death in someone previously healthy 3 months from Covid infection. Murray Kitteringham, very well regarded principal in Sydney's South West.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1536824687845871616


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