As millions of dollars is pumped into Covid-19 research, scientists around the world are observing patterns of unusual longer term symptoms ranging from debilitating fatigue, to cognitive disturbance and various skin complaints. Could this lead to medical advances for other conditions? I believe it will, and the implications are huge.
Imagine having the flu. Now dial down the nasal congestion and fever, and dial up the inflammation, aches and weakness. Season those symptoms with nausea and sleep disturbance. Oh, and it's every day of your life. This is a reality for millions around the world suffering from a "Chronic Fatigue" type illness.
Worse still, many with this illness are written off by doctors as having psychosomatic or functional disorder, and encouraged to engage in graded exercise or cognitive behavioral therapy. Both approaches have been dismissed as harmful by patient advocate groups and other camps in this perpetually controversial discussion. This is a condition that affects millions around the world, and yet, the scientific community has never managed to reach consensus about it's cause, treatment or diagnosis. Very muddy water indeed.
Many patients with ME/CFS experience cycles of relapse and remission. Some are bed bound, while others manage to retain some semblance of normality. One common theory is that many with ME/CFS have "post viral" complications, but this has never been proven. In fact, ME/CFS has been postulated to have links to a plethora of factors, including Lyme Disease, Lupus, and even vaccines. Indeed, a lot of compelling connections can be made, but conclusive, comprehensive scientific understanding remains illusive.
Meanwhile, all over the world, millions of people are suffering, losing independence, wasting away at home, and are often too sick to even advocate for themselves, while doctors, and often family and friends insist they "pull themselves together". These millions of people have been failed. It's a tragedy on a scale that no article can do justice, and a massive scandal that awaits the medical and psychiatric community.
Enter Covid-19, the viral disease wreaking havoc all over the world right now. Virology and epidemiology are deeply complex subjects and not without disagreement among experts, who have been contradicting each other and flip-flopping on a range of Covid related issues since January. Still, this is a global pandemic, and in the fullness of time, it's likely that vast amounts of research will be conducted, and hopefully, some valuable insights gleaned.
Some time around February, it became obvious that a number of coronavirus patients were being left with longer term symptoms, long after recovering from Covid-19.
Many of these symptoms (such as inflammation, extreme fatigue, sleep disturbance) are reminiscent of those experienced by people with ME/CFS. The theory that ME/CFS is most likely triggered by a virus holds more weight than ever. As millions around the world become infected with coronavirus, there will be a growing cohort of those with "post-covid" complications. The rate at which people are being left with these issues after recovery is yet uncertain, but it could be very significant.
Could something be learned from this tragic situation that will help those already suffering years with a similar set of symptoms? My hope is that there will be. And finally, millions of people around the world, real people with real illness, will have vindication. The sooner, the better.