Michael VanElzakker @MBVanElzakker Twitter profile

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Michael VanElzakker

3 years

I was invited to talk about 'Long COVID' and share some lessons from #MEcfs by the Mass General/Harvard Med researchers calling themselves the "MGB Center for COVID Innovation Clinical Trial Tools & PHS Covid-19 Data Mart Working Group" @MGH_RI #LongCOVID

What LongCovid may be and how to study it

A talk to the Clinical Trials Tools and MGB COVID-19 Data Mart Working Group

www.youtube.com

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

It's a good historical moment to reflect on the fact that M.S. was commonly called a "hysterical paralysis" conversion disorder until neuroimaging made it possible to see the lesions.

Harvard Medical School

@harvardmed

3 years

Multiple sclerosis, a progressive disease that affects 2.8 million people worldwide and for which there is no definitive cure, is likely caused by infection with the Epstein-Barr virus

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

@Reuters BREAKING NEWS: Persians found in Persian Gulf

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

7 years

@DeptofDefense @usairforce @USNavy @USMC The destruction was so bad it made MacArthur vomit. Maybe this is why DPRK wants nukes? Why they do missile tests during US-ROK war games?

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

Important new study from a very influential assay inventor. Circulating viral proteins (mostly spike) found in the blood of ~2/3 with long-COVID, but not found in people fully recovered from COVID. Consistent with- but not proving- ongoing viral reservoir.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

Recruiting adults who had acute COVID19 and still have ongoing symptoms like trouble concentrating and abnormally strong fatigue. Must be in the Boston area, as the study is done in-person. #LongCOVID

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

Some prelim data from my ongoing neuroinflammation study at Harvard Med/ @MGHMartinos / @MGH_RI . Longer-term ICC-ME and more recent-onset 'Long-COVID,' both with increased [11C]PBR28 uptake in cingulate cortex vs. age and genotype-matched healthy controls. @PolyBioRF

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

Thankful that an NIH R21 grant that we submitted last February was accepted for funding on the first round of review: a deep characterization of neutrophils in ME/CFS and PASC.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

Mass. General Psychiatry held a mini-conference yesterday, and we presented some data from an undergraduate project showing that when anxiety and depression questionnaires are given to chronically ill people, the results can be misinterpreted.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

Prediction: A major shift in medicine will happen over the next 15 years as Establishment Medicine starts to figure out that pathogens drive risk for many many forms of chronic illness.

Ken Klippenstein 📎

@kenklippenstein

3 years

hmm this seems bad

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

10 months

New preprint of a #longCOVID study from us: "Neuroinflammation in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) as assessed by [11C]PBR28 PET correlates with vascular disease measures"

Neuroinflammation in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) as assessed by [11C]PBR28 PET correla...

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has triggered a consequential public health crisis of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), sometimes referred to as long COVID. The mechanisms of the...

www.biorxiv.org

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

It's a true scandal that this simple message is still not being communicated: "The virus can be transmitted in an aerosol fashion - it can hang in the air like second-hand smoke - and so fans and cracked windows are nearly as important as masks and social distance."

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

@ShomahKhoobi @BethTheModerate @rob_sheridan @cvpayne @CNN Beth The Moderate Black Woman Former Democrat Current Trump Supporter Who Is Definitely A Real Person

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

Reminder that within 5 months after Pearl Harbor, the US was turning out 1500 tanks per month. There is no reason or excuse to not mass-produce free N95 masks and rapid tests for the public

Abraar Karan

@AbraarKaran

3 years

The United States needs a National High Filtration Mask Initiative. (January 7th, 2021)

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

@RyManMD Lots of organic illnesses can have psych consequences, including anxiety, that are literally biological effects of the illness and not an expression of frustration and despair. Immune and stress systems are deeply co-evolved. (can be important for some chronically ill patients)

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

If there's one thing I could communicate to MDs, it would be that when there is "no clear cause," it is highly possible that it's because your testing is inadequate. I have no idea what makes some MDs seemingly believe they can test for everything happening in the human body.

Beth Darnall, PhD

@BethDarnall

5 years

All pain is real. Invalidating patient symptoms that have no clear cause is damaging. Sadly, most people with chronic pain have a story of being invalidated by a medical provider at some point. It’s past time to change this. @JAMANeuro

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

I really appreciate those MDs who understand that medical school did not teach them everything there is to know about the human body and brain, and who understand that clinical testing cannot capture everything happening in the human body and brain. Humility is important.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

These symptoms are in the International Consensus Criteria definition of ME: If we'd spent the last half century listening to #MEcfs patients instead of focusing on alleged shared personality traits or coping style, we'd be better prepared for #LongCOVID .

Journal of Internal Medicine | Wiley Online Library

Abstract. Carruthers BM, van de Sande MI, De Meirleir KL, Klimas NG, Broderick G, Mitchell T, Staines D, Powles ACP, Speight N, Vallings R, Bateman L, Baumgarten-Austrheim B, Bell DS, Carlo-Stella...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Eric Topol

@EricTopol

4 years

Good summary of #LongCovid multi-system effects in 10-25% of people >3 months after infection by @sarahtoy17 @rddysum @danielas_bot w/ @trishgreenhalgh

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

@victorerikray @caseyparks @AMontgomery_998 Transformational moment for me was when I first stopped having to do internal math while grocery shopping

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

The Netherlands government allocated ~$30million USD to start a proper nationwide ME/cfs biomedical research program. I was asked to advise the steering committee of clinicians, scientists, and advocates: "Model for a Dutch collaborative research pipeline"

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Patients who've survived other serious acute infectious illnesses have had the same experience with long-term neurological symptoms, and have frankly been utterly failed by science & medicine. Maybe we can finally stop psychologizing these patients due to our own ignorance.

NYT National News

@NYTNational

4 years

A longtime nurse instantly forgets what patients tell her. A lawyer can't recognize her own car. A neurologist can't remember the word "work" in a work meeting. Covid brain fog is debilitating, frightening and "very real."

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

@lieholepiehole "Napalm," by Robert Neer. But if you want to learn more about the Korean War, I would recommend reading Prof. Bruce Cumings "The Korean War, A History" (includes the above history and much more). It's at most libraries, but here's a PDF copy:

The Korean War A History.pdf

ABOUT THE AUTHOR BRUCE CUMINGS is the Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor in History at the University of Chicago and specializes in modern Korean history, international...

www.docdroid.net

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

This is the poster we presented at the recent #IACFSME conference. Very preliminary, but a promising proof-of-concept that EEG/ERP brainwave signature during cognitive testing was able to discriminate patients versus controls.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

@sal6475 @teekos1 @YairNetanyahu Hopefully his father will soon to sentenced to frison

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

7 years

@MarlaMHughes @CentristSlayer @tfcocs @michellew_ @lovemesomeranch @ShaunKing Lee Atwater was talking about how to appeal to racists without sounding overtly racist

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

"Dr. Chia, do you think there is any chance that enterovirus in the gut can infect and travel via the vagus nerve to reach the brain?"

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

Neuroimaging legend Ken Kwong is on our ME/cfs post-exertional-malaise study team. He scans with us on weekends, and has even paid for some of the scans with his own development funds. He approached me, not the other way around, because he wants to help figure this condition out.

MGH Martinos Center

@MGHMartinos

5 years

#TBT to the time when the Center's Ken Kwong discovered the key to noninvasive #fMRI ! Twenty-eight years ago today, Kwong performed the experiment that opened the door to widespread functional #neuroimaging with the technique. Read about it here: #MGH

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

This potential association has been clear for a while to anyone paying attention but it is really nice to see it so forcefully evidenced. Over the next few years we will find out that EBV can drive several chronic conditions, depending on where it is and what it's doing.

Eric Topol

@EricTopol

3 years

Just out @ScienceMagazine The link, as in cause and effect, between Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and multiple sclerosis

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

22 years of neurological symptoms without ever even getting an MRI, another 8 years before an obvious follow-up question gets asked. Largely because #MEcfs is inappropriately psychologized, this is the rule not the exception, and it's just so frustrating.

Colleen Steckel

@KCSteckel

4 years

@microbeminded2 @MBVanElzakker Fascinating. Many excellent points made. 30 yrs sick. Took me 22 years to get an MRI.. no remarkable findings. At 30 years a SPECT scan multiple abnormal findings with evidence of tbi. I agree all #pwME should get brain scans. Drs need guidance on which ones & what to look for.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

@MGHMartinos @MGH_RI @polybioRF As a disclaimer, say it with me: "Just because inflammation is seen in a condition, does not mean that inflammation is the core cause of that condition."

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

@robrousseau @HawleyMO The corporate Marxists and authoritarian anarchists are combining forces

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

If anyone wants to support my neuroimaging work, the best and most direct way is to do so here: I've fundraised every dime of all the ME/CFS work I've ever done. Please don't donate if you are on disability or struggling. #HarvardMECFS

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

There is sex-based variance in many immune responses. This may be part of sex-based differences in the prevalence of many diseases- many of which are stigmatized and psychologized. I presented a poster about this at the first #SEXXandIMMUNITY conference

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

It is a searing national scandal that schools are re-opening without publicly-manufactured HEPA filters in every classroom. They should be in every Post Office and library, etc. Utter leadership failure. Again: 5 months after Pearl Harbor the US was making 1500 tanks per month.

Stephen Semler

@stephensemler

2 years

The White House said months ago that it expects 100 million COVID infections this fall/winter. Biden *still* hasn’t secured the funding to prepare for this surge. A timeline:

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

I appreciate the chance to tell the "NeuroImmune Axis" #CSNeuroImmune conference in CA about why #MEcfs should be added to the list of neuroimmune-linked illnesses that this field regularly studies. #MillionsMissing @CellSymposia

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

Important preprint just out from a large NIH and U-Maryland based team. The title make the point clearly: "SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Persistence Throughout the Human Body and Brain." As would be expected, this includes mild and even asymptomatic cases.

SARS-CoV-2 infection and persistence throughout the human body and brain

COVID-19 is known to cause multi-organ dysfunction1-3 in acute infection, with prolonged symptoms experienced by some patients, termed Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC)4-5. However, the burden...

www.researchsquare.com

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

We are recruiting for studies on an ongoing basis. If you write to our superstar research coordinator Deena and tell her you're interested, she can get you involved. Both people with #LongCOVID and people with pre-COVID #MEcfs . Also seeking healthy COVID-recovered family members.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

I'll keep saying it until I see that it has penetrated the ME/CFS field: You cannot always learn what's happening in the central nervous system by looking in peripheral blood.

eric hoyeon song

@ericsongg

4 years

the take away is: 1. a localized, divergent CNS immune response can occur distinct from the periphery 2. When treating systemic diseases like SARS-CoV-2, we need to consider organ specific treatments (especially for the brain!) fin/n

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

Example citation:

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

My from-quarantine teletalk to the #CMRC2020 conference, describing some myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome ( #MEcfs ) history, then recent research into cerebrovascular reactivity & enlarged perivascular spaces Please excuse the raspy voice

CMRC2020 Michael VanElzakker

null

www.youtube.com

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

I wonder if he was asked, "Senator, have you been under a lot of stress lately? Are you sure these aren't just the normal aches & pains of normal aging? Do you suppose you might be elaborating symptoms because your spouse is nicer to you when you're sick?"

Elena Schneider

@ec_schneider

2 years

Wow - Sen. Tim Kaine has long covid. “I tell people it feels like all my nerves have had like five cups of coffee." It's a “24/7” tingling sensation, he says. Introduces legislation to study it:

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

"Dr. Nath, some researchers have been claiming that everything happening in the body should be detectable in blood if assays are sensitive enough. Does this fit with your experience?"

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

One thing I'd like #medtwitter to understand about the putative relationship between #LongCovid & #MEcfs is that we *know* that 'LongCovid' starts with #COVID19 . Several outbreaks of #ME were never properly investigated before being hijacked by psychiatry.

Eric Topol

@EricTopol

4 years

Not enough is being done to understand the incidence,, time course and underpinnings of #LongCovid , the common, lingering and often debilitating symptoms of #COVID19 . This essay helps awareness and why preventing spread is paramount by @henryimiller

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

7 years

Neuroinflammation in the Brain of Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Great to see Nakatomi, Kuratsune & Watanabe continuing/ replicating their work on this, looking forward to reading the technical details of what they did.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

The college students I teach enter classrooms with signs saying "please clean surfaces when you leave" - the fact that #COVIDisAirborne is still not communicated. When I take a few minutes to explain, crack a window, and pass around a box of N95s, they all mask up.

T. Ryan Gregory

@TRyanGregory

2 years

No one could have foreseen this.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

Our recent review of potential biological mechanisms behind #LongCOVID . The complex, challenging reality is that it's unlikely that every patient suffering long-term consequences will have the exact same underlying pathophysiology. @PolyBioRF

Frontiers - Microbiology

@FrontMicrobiol

3 years

New Research: Long COVID or Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC): An Overview of Biological Factors That May Contribute to Persistent Symptoms #microbiology

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

10 months

This important figure is related to why so many people misinterpreted the Ann. Internal Med long COVID study: Long COVID is not a single thing, so studies recruiting anyone with any ongoing symptoms or signs will struggle to pull signal from noise.

Eric Topol

@EricTopol

11 months

This whole body MRI study found 3-fold multi-organ abnormalities compared with controls #LongCovid

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

Recruiting Boston-area individuals with pre-COVID #MEcfs for a brain scan study, measuring a type of neuroinflammation. Contact DSAADI @mgh .harvard.edu to learn more and find out if you qualify.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Giving a talk on ME/CFS at MGH on Wednesday; planning to do a lot of context for why the diagnosis is misperceived the way it is. Please post images from media portrayals - "white person with head on laptop = CFS" and that sort of thing. Example here:

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

In my experience, the docs who stay curious are the smartest ones. The docs who think they already know all the answers... are something else.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Retraction: Music therapy for people living with long-term consequences of a viral infection. I hope learning about 'long-COVID' makes clear how badly medicine currently patronizes the chronically ill.

Retraction Watch

@RetractionWatch

4 years

BMJ journal retracts, replaces study on chronic fatigue in children

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

Here it is, folks: A $1.8 Million grant from @OpenMedF to help us start a research center at @HarvardMed . #MillionsMissing

Open Medicine Foundation

@OpenMedF

6 years

BIG NEWS on this #OMFScienceWednesday : We are proud to announce OMF has funded $1.8 million to establish a new ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Harvard and will expand the Stanford Data Center for the Severely Ill Patients (SIPS) Study. More info:

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

This kind of thing happens all the time at good conferences: I had never met Daniel before and didn't know about his work. I learned new things from him, and found out he works 1 building over. We chatted, and I think he can help me solve a problem we've been having. Good stuff!

Open Medicine Foundation

@OpenMedF

5 years

Dr Daniel Irimia, MGH & HMS, presents on “Neutrophils (white blood cells) behavior in MECFS.” #HarvardMECFS

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

11 months

Thankful this team of top researchers pulled together to review the current state of evidence for this central question, and to describe of the kind of research program needed to actually address the constraints & challenges imposed by biology: @polyBioRF

SARS-CoV-2 reservoir in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC)

Nature Immunology - Proal and colleagues review the evidence for long-term persistence of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in tissues of infected individuals and discuss how this viral reservoir may...

www.nature.com

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Significant numbers of people show long-term physical damage to heart and lung after acute COVID-19 resolves. 78% showed heart tissue problems in one study. This is part of why I think we should be cautious with the assumption that "long-haul COVID" is the same thing as ME/cfs.

Gladstone Institutes

@GladstoneInst

4 years

Evidence slowly building for long-term heart problems post-COVID-19. @arstechnica #TeamScience @Juan_PerBer @KSerahSera @SarahJRockwood @Camille_Rosa15 @davidajoy8 @ramadass_gokul @AnaSilva_illust @willfff @TheOttLab @BruceConklin @ToddMcDevitt

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

@jenbrea Helped a kid diagnosed with CFS get better; discovered that his appendix was filled with herpesvirus. Recovered since having it removed. Imagine telling him to jump into a circle labeled "STOP" whenever his symptoms flared. Absolute trash.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Yes, this seems like bad advice. What is it that makes people think that everything from infectious illness to cancer can be fixed with a plucky attitude and some exercise? It feels like an expression of the just-world fallacy, which itself feels like false belief in meritocracy?

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

Glad to see this crucial study now published in Nature, the most prestigious scientific journal in the world. It made quite an impact among researchers working in the space when the data were first shared nearly 7 months ago, recorded video here:

SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Persistence Throughout the Human Body and Brain

This will be an NIH–FDA COVID-19 SIG lecture concerning findings from the NIH COVID-19 Autopsy Consortium. Daniel Chertow is a tenure-track investigator in the Critical Care Medicine Department at...

videocast.nih.gov

NIAID News

@NIAIDNews

2 years

COVID NEWS: Autopsies of people who died from COVID19 show that the virus spread throughout the body and remained in tissue for months. The study broadened scientists’ perspectives on where SARS-CoV-2 could cause infection and persist, including the brain.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Feeling genuinely optimistic & enthusiastic about the 'official' launch of a long-term goal: PolyBio Research Foundation. We have an entire research program mapped out, including new collaborators who want to dig in and start finding answers. #PolyBio

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

Asking people with an ME or CFS diagnosis to participant in this online study: The study is about questionnaires used in research, and will give you the chance to say whether those questionnaires are clear or suitable.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Tony Komaroff just emailed me this really interesting new paper Sensory (afferent) vagus nerve detects inflammation and triggers the feeling of sickness, & the motor (efferent) branch creates anti-inflammatory signals. This paper describes that mechanism.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

We could - and should - have mass production and free distribution of n95 masks, free at-home antigen testing, genetic sequencing of a high percentage of positive tests, open-source licensing for global vaccine production, and public education about aerosol transmission.

Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Within 5 months of Pearl Harbor, the US was producing 1500 tanks per month. Don't ever forget - it's a choice that we lack masks & PPE for vulnerable people & workers, and that we are on the cusp of having to triage who deserves to be kept alive by one of the limited ventilators.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

This is a must-listen, Dr Fasano articulates many of the points we've been drilling on for years, including -"mild" disease can have severe long-term consequences -"autoimmunity" is usually driven by infection -apex pathogens can drive pre-existing microbiome to further dysbiosis

Amy Proal, PhD

@microbeminded2

3 years

New @polybioRF podcast: I interviewed Dr. Alessio Fasano: Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Watch on Youtube () or listen on an App like Spotify ()

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

Worth noting that many survivors of acute Ebola experience a 'Post (sic) Ebola Syndrome' that often includes neurological problems, pain, and vision problems like photophobia

Science Translational Medicine

@ScienceTM

2 years

The #Ebola virus can persist and relapse in the brains of animals that survived infections and received monoclonal antibodies, show new findings from #USAMRIID that stress the importance of long-term follow-up for human survivors. #InfectiousDisease

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

@sarahleah1 @stevesalaita @freespeechlover @bariweiss Literally her undergraduate extracurricular activity.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

I've decided to change tactics. From now on I'm just going to agree with the story that "studying chronic fatigue syndrome is super duper extra hard" because it makes me seem like a badass.

Tom Feilden

@BBCTomFeilden

5 years

1/2 Tomorrow on #r4today : Another scientist withdraws from research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome citing the "toxic" debate about the condition online and relentless harrassment

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

Infectious disease doc Donna Felsenstein MD introducing the clinical picture, and giving some history & context. As someone who has worked with #pwME for 38 years, she was moved to tears to see a big group of clinicians and scientists finally starting to dig in. #HarvardMECFS

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

I'm glad this is being reported, but reading it you'd never know that scores of scientists & clinicians - not just "patient activists" - have been arguing for years that evidence for graded exercise therapy is much too flawed to justify its recommendation.

Kate Kelland

@kkelland

6 years

Exclusive: Respected #Cochrane science journal to temporarily withdraw #CFS /ME review amid patient activist complaints @kkelland @reuters

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

Installing the newest 7Tesla strength ultrahigh field MRI scanner at @MGHMartinos . This will provide very high resolution images and allow more accurate characterization of metabolites like lactate. (Junkyard magnets used to pick up old cars use a field strength of about 1Tesla.)

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Not everything happening in the body is detectable in blood. If you're assaying blood or other body fluids but not finding a microorganism you logically should find, it might be in tissue.

Prof. Akiko Iwasaki

@VirusesImmunity

4 years

Shown by @VogelsChantal & @NathanGrubaugh , the mother had detectable levels of #SARSCoV2 in her saliva and urine, but not in her blood. However, the level of virus in the placenta was sky high. How did the virus get to the placenta? (3/n)

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

I'm teaching Abnormal Psychology at Tufts U this semester; one of my students just wrote on the @TuftsAdmissions blog about a lecture that resonated with her:

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

Willing to bet that this patient was seen by at least a half-dozen arrogant, ignorant male MDs obsessed with "anxiety" and (ironically) "hysteria" before this image was taken

Jocelyn J. Fitzgerald MD

@jjfitzgeraldMD

3 years

Imagine the level of suffering, we have known about this for so long and Endo is so common but the paucity of research done on Endometriosis is just shameful

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

7 years

PACE and SMILE are not examples of clinical research into #MEcfs , they were social psychology experiments on people who deal with fatigue.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

I appreciate this research group so very much. But I'd ask everyone in the field: Please don't use rhetoric like this: "Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is arguably the last major disease we know almost nothing about." It just isn't true. We know a lot.

#MEAction Network

@MEActNet

6 years

Potential biomarker! This paper documents that red blood cells are less deformable in ME/CFS patients compared to healthy controls. We are proceeding to design new devices that will make a clear distinction between patients and healthy controls. @OpenMedF

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

7 years

We're raising funds to pay for #MEcfs brain scanning in a dual MR-PET machine using the [11C]-PBR28 ligand. This will let us look for glial activation (neuroinflammation) in brainstem. These scans cost $5,980 each (incl. indirects).

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

Thank you @PlzSolveCFS for awarding us a 2019 Ramsay Grant!

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

This is why I tell patients: accurately & honestly describe your symptoms & medical history, but don't tell doctors that you have "ME" or "CFS." If you tell them that, they may drop their investigative instinct and say "Mystery illness. Go back to bed, wait for more research."

Kati Debelic

@a_parrot_or_two

4 years

@MBVanElzakker There was anAustralian ME brain study a few years ago, who had 2 of their subjects excluded from their cohort (out of 25) : one was found to have a brain tumor, and the other one was missing their cerebellum. Sick for several years too.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

There's been a lot of confusion so I want to clear it up: OMF has never given me a dime of support, and they have not supported any of my research at all. Not even when I have asked, including for a $7000 microscope.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

Today, we roll our eyes at some of last decade's assumptions (autism is caused by cold mothering!). In 50 years, people will be astounded by today's passive, unthinking assumption of sterility in 'autoimmune' and chronic illness.

Amy Proal, PhD

@microbeminded2

5 years

It drives me crazy when #inflammation is connected to a symptom/condition and the immediate response is to “blame” the human #immune response alone...when there are 100,000+ pathobionts in human tissue/blood/gut capable of driving a very broad range of inflammatory processes

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

@sapinker @Kdcfsme The Dark Side of Powerful People Having Access To Media: Deeply entrenched establishment figures hold a politically sacred theory & are able to get wide and disingenuous press coverage when reality seems inconsistent with it.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

Instead of using media to apologize for, mitigate and undo the harmful effects of psychologizing this illness, once again media is used to center the complaints of a dozen psychologists who receive mean tweets from disabled people.

Reuters

@Reuters

5 years

Scientists researching treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome say they face online abuse and harassment. It’s a ‘new normal,’ and some say they are leaving the field because of it

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

@elonmusk @RationalEtienne @PPathole That's not what "immune" means, stop spreading bad information.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

The amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide of Alzheimer's disease has been evolutionarily preserved for ~400million years: not a trait of something with no function that only drives disease. Aβ functions as an antimicrobial peptide to trap & lyse pathogens that have made it into the brain.

Nayef Al-Rodhan

@SustainHistory

2 years

Risk for Developing #Alzheimer ’s Disease Increases by 50-80% In Older Adults Who Caught #COVID19 Within a Year According to a study of more than 6 million patients 65 and older. via @neurosciencenew

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

7 years

@icyblue57 @chrislhayes Our society is so profoundly imperialist & racist that people can literally think 100,000s of dead Iraqi civilians isn't as bad as rudeness.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

3 years

One of the many surreal things about the pandemic is that South Africa will be "blamed" as the source of this variant - when in reality they found it because they are simply doing what WE should be doing too, which is fully sequencing lots of positive tests.

Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

@ashishkjha

3 years

Today, I'm thankful for the South African scientists Who are working on the Nu variant with great expertise, speed, and transparency Their openness makes the world safer Thank you 🇿🇦

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Viruses *always* hijack host cells - that's what they do. They aren't "alive" and need a source for raw materials and energy. And when they are inside brain cells they are both difficult to completely clear and difficult to detect by peripheral blood.

NYT Science

@NYTScience

4 years

The coronavirus may invade brain cells, hijacking them to make copies of itself and starving their neighbors to death.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

That's over 143°F. Just like COVID, it's not going away without revolutionary change, just like COVID it will disproportionately kill and harm the elderly and sick and poor, and just like COVID those deaths will be minimized as a social-Darwinist inevitability.

Nick Breeze (Bluesky: @nickbreeze.genn.cc )

@NickGBreeze

2 years

Land temps of 62°C - frightening killing heat wave. We are doing this, + refusing to stop. Horrific.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Many people probably don't know this: I have to pay my own salary with grants or fundraising. It's part of why so many scientists give up and go into private industry. In September, the US signed a sole-source contract to buy $13.3Billion of nuclear missiles. These are choices.

Adam W Gaffney

@awgaffney

4 years

Requiring researchers to spend a great deal of time fundraising their own salaries through grants is an utter waste of time, money, and effort. Pay them a salary. They can apply for grants if they need to buy stuff or want to hire people.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

One of the most important talks of #MECFSatNIH19 . This team understands that pathogens often manipulate or commandeer mitochondria for their own benefit. (This does not mean "all patients have one undiscovered virus that wrecks mitochondria function.")

Solve ME/CFS Initiative

@PlzSolveCFS

5 years

Live from Day 2 of the @NIH Conf: Bhupesh Prusty from @Uni_WUE presents “Pathogenic alterations of mitochondrial dynamics: A working model for ME/CFS.“ Watch: #MECFSatNIH19

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

@KenRoth The currency tanked because capital is doing absolutely everything possible to strangle the Venezuelan economy. Why are you so bad at this?

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

7 years

Totally agree with everything in this thread. I'd add that I don't believe vulnerable people - or those defending them - are obligated to be polite to people who are causing harm, and that people in positions of power should learn to absorb and think about the cause of criticism.

Jennifer Brea🦒

@jenbrea

7 years

I've made a practice of not publicly calling out Esther Crawley in part because the issues we face are so much bigger than any one researcher.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

4 years

Virus' ability to move along nerve tissue is a really underconsidered and important phenomenon

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

7 years

With reports of suicide, there's always the risk of copycat suicides. That's why they are generally not reported on the news. I understand that people with ME/cfs are suffering - sometimes badly - but implore you all to hang on. Reach out if you're thinking about suicide, please.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

Speaking at #MillionsMissing Boston. A nicer day and a bigger crowd than last year! #MEAwarenessDay

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

2 years

Our lab is currently hiring a clinical research coordinator (CRC). Areas of research include 'Long-COVID' and ME/cfs. Apply through this page: This is an ideal position for the ~2yrs between undergraduate and pre-neuro medical or graduate school.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

5 years

Happy Halloween from the #VagabondLab ! We dressed as a research paper: Neurotropic viruses HHV-6 and HHV-3 (zoster) crowding a nervous vagus nerve #VNIH

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

Autoimmunity is a feminist issue, hormone resistance is a racial justice issue, neuroinflammation is a poverty issue, PTSD is an issue of violent imperialism and misogyny. Science and medicine are not independent from the societies in which they occur.

Emily Baughan

@Emily_Baughan

6 years

adding this to my ever growing "autoimmunity is a feminist issue" reading list:

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

This was such a great event. Sincere thanks to @Invest_in_ME for inviting me. I made so many connections, shared so many ideas, and expanded, confirmed, & changed my thinking in many ways. I can't wait to get started on the Collaborative Research Center when I get back to Boston.

IIMER Bear

@iimerbear

6 years

And that’s #IIMEC13 over. Thank you to everyone that makes this possible. We are making a difference. Let’s keep fighting the good fight, ‘cause I have my bear claws ready to right the injustice! #mecfs #iimer #iimerbear #meconferenceweek2018 #letsdoitforme #conference

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

@matthewjdowd @DLGahres Be sure to spread this 'civility' message to police that spray down peaceful Indigenous protesters with water in the Dakota freeze, & police who fire tear gas into anti-brutality protests. Prioritization of civility is a mark of privilege. Many people have to prioritize survival.

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Michael VanElzakker

@MBVanElzakker

6 years

@MECFSNews @MTackCVS @RobinNDurham @jenbrea @WKCosmo Franz Alexander is considered the founder of psychosomatic medicine; his "Holy Seven Psychosomatic Diseases" were Hypertension Thyrotoxicosis Bronchial asthma Rheumatoid arthritis Peptic Ulcer Ulcerative colitis Neurodermitis So... his accuracy rate didn't turn out super well.

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