- A new preprint linked Long COVID symptom severity with higher DNA levels of the herpesvirus HHV6. The study enrolled 45 people with Long COVID, comparing them with matched controls. Participants self-collected saliva at specific time points over two days and completed detailed questionnaires. Further study of the viruses in saliva may help identify new subsets of people with Long COVID who could benefit from specific antiviral and immunomodulatory therapies, the PolyBbio Research Foundation, which supported the study, shared in a press release.*
- Members of the Swedish advocacy group Svenska Covidföreningen (Swedish Covid Forum) recently published a resource, “Designing Studies for Patients with PEM,” or post-exertional malaise, to improve research methods into ME and Long COVID. “We have compiled best practices and recommendations for study design in this guide, specifically aimed at researchers,” the authors wrote. They state that patients must be involved in studies from early stages and that the risks associated with PEM must be described in the ethics application, among other recommendations.
- The University of California, San Francisco is actively recruiting for an observational study on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) called Chronic Infections and Inflammation in ME/CFS (CHIIME). The study aims to enroll 200 people, comparing people with non-COVID ME, post-COVID ME, and healthy controls by performing “deep clinical phenotyping with high-quality biospecimen collection.” Participants will complete surveys, and undergo extensive testing and assessments. The study is being led by Michael Peluso, who also spearheads the Long-term Impact of Infection with Novel Coronavirus (LIINC) study at UCSF. Contact: chiime@ucsf.edu
