News from Spain

Spain produces quite a lot of ME/CFS research and we have some Spanish members, so I thought it might be useful to have a regional thread for Spain.

There's new research out from the Barcelona team with Jesús Castro-Marrero, using trial participants from the ME/CFS Unit, Vall d'Hebron Hospital Research Institute. Discussed here
Effect of Melatonin Plus Zinc Supplementation on Fatigue Perception in ME/CFS: A Randomized, Double-Blind,Placebo-Controlled Trial:2021,Castro-Marrero

(Edited - my assumption about the clinic may not have been correct)

 

Good article exploring the links between Long Covid and ME/CFS, by a Spanish author.

 

New paper out
An Integrative Neuropsychological Approach to Chronic Pain, Emotions and Clinical Symptoms, 2022, Montoro and Galvez-Sánchez
Usual BPS stuff, assuming that measures of anxiety and depression and the like indicate fixable emotional problems that are causing illness, in this case, fibromyalgia. The suggested treatment is acceptance and commitment therapy.

115 women with fibromyalgia were recruited from the Fibromyalgia Association of Jaén (AFIXA; Spain). What on earth were the officeholders of AFIXA were thinking, offering their members up to be labelled pain catastrophisers? Hopefully the association will not partner further with these researchers.

 

Brain fog of post-COVID-19 condition and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, same medical disorder? 2022 Azcue et al

A paper from people associated with some Spanish hospitals.
My impression of the situation in Spain is that that country might be worse than the UK in terms of the predominance of BPS attitudes and the poor quality of ME/CFS research.

 

As a welcome change from BPS fibromyalgia research, there's this paper, with a result that goes against the "Exercise solves all problems" mantra from a Granada team:
An umbrella review of randomized control trials on the effects of physical exercise on cognition 2023 Ciria et al

 

Information from new forum member ONG PEM:

...
We are delighted to have joined this forum and to be part of such necessary and important initiatives for all our group of people suffering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

...
The Association of People with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, PEM (https://www.ongpem.org/), is the only association in Spain that exclusively represents people with this disease and we defend the application of the 2011 International Consensus Criteria for its clinical and differential diagnosis.

Our most immediate efforts are focused, among other objectives, on giving visibility, before society and institutions, to this neglected, stigmatized and abandoned disease, on fighting for the recognition of our rights before the public health and social-health institutions in Spain (dignified and adequate health care, achievement of work incapacities, disabilities and dependencies, etc. ), in promoting appropriate training and updating in this pathology of medical professionals and other health and social-health personnel, in achieving much more investment in research in order to achieve an unequivocal diagnosis and effective treatments and thus improve the health and quality of life of sick people, in disseminating and providing accurate information about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, according to the scientific evidence of each moment, and in establishing national and international relations with other counterpart entities, doctors, scientists, etc., in order to achieve advances in relation to our disease and those of us who suffer from it.

...
info.ongpem@gmail.com
________
Info - ONG PEM
Facebook - Twitter - Instagram