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Long Fatigue: The exhaustion that lingers after an infection (www.bbc.com)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by MicroWave to c/health

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Summary

Post-viral fatigue,* a mysterious illness linked to infections such as Epstein-Barr, Ebola, and Lyme disease, has long been poorly understood.

Scientists are now investigating its underlying causes, including mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and autoimmunity, while exploring potential treatments like enzyme supplements and repurposed medications.

Current studies are focusing on repurposed HIV drugs, enzyme therapies, and supplements such as Coenzyme Q10.

Identifying at-risk subgroups and uncovering the mechanisms behind fatigue could produce targeted clinical trials and new treatments within the next 1-2 years.

EDIT:

*Should be post-acute infection syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis instead (thanks @[email protected])

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[–] solrize 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I thought Lyme disease was bacterial (borrelia burgdorfi or some such) rather than viral.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago

That’s because whoever wrote this has little clue what they are talking about.

What they are calling “long fatigue” is medically known as “post-acute infection syndrome” and contains hundreds of symptoms which don’t necessarily include fatigue.

It can be caused by both viral and bacterial infections, Lyme being one of the bacterial ones.

[–] MicroWave 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It is, but the article seems to conflate post-viral fatigue with long-term fatigue in the grouping:

Post-viral fatigue has long been poorly understood, and for many years was often dismissed as psychological. But this long-term fatigue with varying degrees of severity has been linked to infections ranging from Sars to Ebola, Epstein-Barr virus and influenza, as well as infections with tick-borne pathogens such as the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

“fatigue” being in the name was one of the reasons it used to be dismissed as psychological.

But now, especially with the help of long covid, we’ve found a distinct clinical entity, with clear physical markings, Complement system overractivation, T-cell exhaustion, WASF3-caused mitochondrial dysfunction etc.

[–] MicroWave 6 points 2 days ago

Thanks. I've updated the summary to reflect your info.