Yes, it’s that time again. We’re asking you for money – not a lot – but some. Health Rising’s BIG (little) year-end fundraising drive is on. We call it the BIG (little) fundraising drive because it’s our BIG drive, but our needs – though real – are puny compared to other organizations. Health Rising has a big footprint on the web – no one covers these issues with the depth or frequency that we do – but we don’t need a ton of money. We’re just getting the news out – and there was a lot of it last year.
A Look Back: Broad Themes Emerging – Treatment Options Expanding
This year, we saw the emergence of broad themes – a good sign that we’re getting somewhere.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and immune cell exhaustion took center stage, the idea that something in the blood may be causing these diseases has become inescapable, herpesvirus reactivation reared its head again and again, and a “failure to respond” on a cellular level provided a good biological explanation for why exercise is so difficult. On that note, a major 2-day exercise study validated perhaps the most significant finding in ME/CFS yet – and one that remains unique to ME/CFS – that exertion one day impairs one’s ability to generate energy the next day.
Key themes appear to be emerging.
We saw the same idea – that an infection-induced hypermetabolic state leads to a hypometabolic state and immune exhaustion – show up in multiple studies. Perhaps the most remarkable one – because of its obscurity – was an African study that found similar findings. When researchers focusing on African viruses get results like that, you know the word is getting around.
While we don’t have any FDA-approved drugs or sure-fire treatments, treatment possibilities continue to expand. Based on our poll and CUREID’s findings, the nicotine patch may be the best thing since low-dose naltrexone to show up for these illnesses. Several reports provided tantalizing evidence that when the right drug meets the right kind of ME/CFS/long-COVID patient, shocking things can happen. Monoclonal antibodies produced rapid and dramatic turnarounds in long-COVID patients, Copaxone has done the same for some ME/CFS patients, and an upcoming recovery story will show even people with severe ME/CFS can achieve remarkable recoveries. We may not need to find new drugs to make progress – we may just need to find the right ones that are available.
When the right drug hits the right patient, miracles can happen.
Along the way, we covered – notice how many of these have to do with energy production – several possible mitochondrial/metabolic enhancers (urolithin A, creatine, LOLA, methylene blue), “the Edge” – a lactate monitoring device, an old drug – amantadine- that might help with fatigue, possibly the next FDA-approved drug for fibromyalgia – Tonix, a new anaerobic exercise program, David Putrino’s autonomic nervous system training program, how hormesis might help, and more.
On the treatment end, the single most important moment in the post-infectious disease space was one that many people may have missed – the RECOVER Initiative program’s promise to take a more creative approach to its long-COVID clinical trials.
Time will tell how it goes but given the $500 million(yes, $500 million) the program has to play with, that change presents real possibilities for everyone with post-infectious diseases. In that vein, studies finding that common pathogens are every bit as effective as the coronavirus at producing ME/CFS/long COVID, and the CDC study finding vastly increased ME/CFS prevalence only underscores how needed treatment advances are for so many people.
The funding picture was mixed – and advocates are making major efforts to overcome years to bypass barriers at the NIH.
Coming up on the treatment end, expect blogs on red light therapy, cryotherapy, a customized immune approach, more recovery stories, plasmapheresis, natural coagulants, new antivirals for EBV, and more.
The funding picture was mixed. It was great to see the Biden administration take long COVID seriously enough to gift the RECOVER Initiative with $500 million and to see advocates push for $1 billion/year in post-infectious disease funding and a post-infectious disease center at the NIH.
ME/CFS’s big advocacy year (Roadmap Initiative, Intramural study, dramatically increased prevalence rates, NIH conference) foundered, however, as ME/CFS lost an NIH-funded research center, leaving funding (adjusted for inflation) down considerably. The year is not over, though, and we expect to see a grant opportunity for ME/CFS and post-infectious diseases.
It’s an exciting time and we’ll be digging into the new research and treatment findings and keeping a close eye on advocacy efforts in 2025.
Eight Ways to Support Health Rising
Please push a little money our way.
It’s easy to support Health Rising – just pick your preferred way. PayPal, checks, Amazon gift cards, Bitcoin, bequests – we gladly accept them all. (Please note you do not need to have a PayPal account to send money through PayPal (see below).
Our goal is to raise $75,000 during this drive.
Recurring Donations
(1) Become a Recurring PayPal Donor – Health Rising’s recurring donors provide our financial bedrock and they allow me to sleep better at night. 🙂
The great thing about recurring donations is that even if they’re small, they really add up. You might not notice the $5, $10, or more dollars going Health Rising’s way monthly, but we do. It all adds up. To become a recurring donor, simply go to the PayPal widget below or to the right sidebar of any page, click the amount you would like to donate ($5, $10, $15, etc.), and hit the Subscribe button.
Or, if you’re doing a one-time donation, PayPal will give you the option of making it a recurring one.
(2) Already a Recurring PayPal Donor? Want to give more? – (Want to give more than the current options allow? Just let me know! :)) Simply contact me using the Contact form (upper right-hand of the page), stating that. I will stop your current donation and you can restart it.
(3) Become a Recurring Donor with Online Banking (non-PayPal) – Not happy with PayPal? Use Bill Pay, Zelle, or similar programs at your bank to send checks or electronic transfers straight to us. If you’re with Wells Fargo, we can set up automatic monthly donations. Please contact me via the contact form (upper right-hand of the page).
Health Rising is wholly community supported.
One-Time Donations
(4) Make a One-Time PayPal Donation – One-time donations are Health Rising’s biggest source of income.
Use our handy donation widget to make a one-time or recurring donation. (To give a recurring donation, click on the amount and then click “subscribe”.)
(5) One-Time Checks! – We love checks! Please make out checks to Health Rising and send them to the below address.
Cort Johnson
404 Boulder Hwy
PO Box 91245
Henderson, NV 89015.
(6) Bitcoin! – Bitcoin has been very good to us. A Bitcoin donation from around ten years ago is now worth a hundred times what it was. Our Bitcoin address is 18D9JkiGxPcpx8RYNcG5p2Be1joU9J6v5D and our account is at Coinbase.
Outside the Box
Thanks for keeping us on the web for the past 14 years.
(7) Amazon gift cards! – Amazon is Health Rising’s go-to place to get electronic accessories, books, stuff for the vehicle, etc. Simply go here, find your gift card, and put my email address (cortrising@gmail.com) in the “To:” box, and voila – instant Amazon gift card!
Others
Airline miles, rewards points, bequests, places to stay (I’m traveling the West), dog-watching are all possibilities. Have some more ideas? Please let us know.
Thanks for your support!
Hi Cort, I really appreciate your ability to simplify complex research into layman’s terms. Also, I am amazed at how wide of a net you cast in your research. It is all very relevant and up to date. You give me hope when I often can’t find it myself.
So can you please tell me approximately how many blogs you will have done this year?
I want to donate per blog in a lump sum this year.