Preachermom

[Preachermom @raisingpks]

#childhoodcancer #survivorship #lymphoma

[Furkan Gözükara @FurkanGozukara]

CNN's Chief National Security Analyst drops a bombshell. The US has moved all the pieces into the region for a massive ground invasion of Iran. They are openly discussing seizing Kharg Island and the Strait of Hormuz while pretending to negotiate peace. Absolute deception.

[Billy Hanlon @bhanlon15]

"Autoantibodies implicated as drivers of long COVID in new study"

"What is really striking," say both co-leads of the study, "is that three independent research groups have recently reported similar findings..."

https://t.co/FKocxLSZjW

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

A groundbreaking study has pinpointed a microscopic culprit behind the debilitating fatigue, brain fog, and other persistent symptoms of long COVID: abnormal, sticky microclots embedded with neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in patients' blood.

These microclots—tiny aggregates of clotting proteins—are small enough to obstruct the body's tiniest blood vessels (capillaries), restricting oxygen delivery to tissues and organs without triggering obvious large-scale clotting events. In long COVID patients, researchers observed a dramatic ~20-fold increase (median 19.7 times higher) in the number of these microclots compared to healthy controls, with the clots also tending to be larger.

What sets this finding apart is the discovery that these microclots are structurally intertwined with NETs—web-like structures of DNA, enzymes (such as myeloperoxidase and neutrophil elastase), and proteins released by neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) to ensnare pathogens. Normally, NETs form temporarily and then dissolve, but in long COVID, they persist and become physically embedded within the microclots, creating highly resistant, "gummy" structures that evade the body's natural clot-breaking processes (fibrinolysis). This creates a chronic thromboinflammatory state, where blocked microcirculation and ongoing low-grade inflammation may sustain symptoms like exhaustion and cognitive impairment.

The differences were so pronounced that machine learning models analyzing anonymized blood samples (via fluorescence microscopy for markers like ThT for amyloid-like structures, DNA stains, and MPO for NETs) could distinguish long COVID patients from healthy individuals with 91% accuracy—offering a potential objective biomarker for a condition that has long evaded reliable diagnosis through standard tests (e.g., normal D-dimer, PT/INR, or aPTT levels despite significant microclot burden).

This work, led by teams including Prof. Etheresia Pretorius (Stellenbosch University) and Dr. Alain Thierry (Montpellier University), reframes long COVID as a tangible, blood-based disorder driven by dysregulated coagulation and innate immunity rather than vague "post-viral malaise." Targeting NETs or microclots—perhaps with therapies to degrade NETs or prevent their stabilization—could open doors to treating root causes instead of merely alleviating symptoms.

[Thierry, A. R., Usher, T., Sanchez, C., Turner, S., Venter, C., Pastor, B., Waters, M., Thompson, A., Mirandola, A., Pisareva, E., Prevostel, C., Laubscher, G. J., Kell, D. B., & Pretorius, E. (2025). Circulating Microclots Are Structurally Associated With Neutrophil Extracellular Traps and Their Amounts Are Elevated in Long COVID Patients. Journal of Medical Virology, 97(10), e70613.
DOI: 10.1002/jmv.70613]

[Eric Topol @EricTopol]

"The term [provider] should not be used to describe physicians, nor should physicians use it to describe themselves, their team members, or their trainees."
https://t.co/C1hEu3mUr2 @AnnalsofIM @ACPIMPhysicians

[Scott Gottlieb, MD 🇺🇸 @ScottGottliebMD]

My essay in the Sunday Washington Post: “A viral infection can have devastating effects. I experienced this firsthand.” @AEIecon @PostOpinions

https://t.co/4jximud8Hw

[Rachel Barnhart @rachbarnhart]

"A 2-year-old boy was breastfeeding in detention. One 6-year-old boy had leukemia. An 8-year-old girl began wetting the bed. A 14-year-old girl engaged in self-harm...None of these children or their parents had a criminal history anywhere in the world."
https://t.co/SAmOXx7y8O

[Preachermom @raisingpks]

@Vans My son’s beloved shoes. He loaned his brand new Christmas Vans to his roommate to wade through the fire rubble pile the next day so they are now toast too (no pun intended). Even his shower shoes were
Vans slides.

[Preachermom @raisingpks]

@Vans Hey, my son just lost everything in a dorm room fire (roommate’s electric skateboard battery exploded) and it is his small, but deeply treasured, fleet of Vans that he is missing most. Any love for a broke LA college kid stuck in Target shoes at the moment?

[@ijbailey @ijbailey]

Remember when Black Lives Matter activists said what they were trying to fix affects everyone, just Black people first? Remember when Black scholars said anti-Black policies eventually always end up hurting others? Remember when Black journalists said it wasn’t economic angst?

[Harry Spoelstra @HarrySpoelstra]

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome: A State-of-the-Art Review

🔥Important international review article on a growing medical condition post-covid19: POTS!

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a complex disorder mainly of orthostatic intolerance, often accompanied by a spectrum of symptoms related to autonomic nervous system dysfunction

‼️Covid-19 has doubled the POTS prevalence!

Let’s dig into this review, with my PEER-REVIEW comments as a final remark:😡

➡️Definition & Epidemiology
- POTS is a heterogeneous autonomic disorder causing orthostatic intolerance, defined by ≥30 bpm sustained heart rate increase (≥40 bpm in ages 12–19) on standing/tilt without orthostatic hypotension, plus ≥3 months of symptoms (e.g., palpitations, dizziness, fatigue, brain fog),
- Prevalence ~1.7–3.4% (higher post-COVID), strongly female-predominant (9:1), onset often 12–50 years, triggered by infections, hormones, trauma.

➡️Pathophysiology:
- Multifactorial: Hyperadrenergic (excess catecholamines/autoantibodies/neuroinflammation) vs. hypovolaemic/neuropathic (venous pooling, low volume, connective tissue issues),
- Microvascular dysfunction contributes to widespread symptoms.

➡️Diagnosis of POTS:
- Relies on clinical history of chronic orthostatic intolerance + active stand test (preferred) or head-up tilt, showing sustained HR rise ≥30 bpm (≥40 bpm in ages 12–19) without orthostatic hypotension,
- Exclude mimics (anaemia, dehydration, hyperthyroidism),
- Use Malmö POTS symptom score and COMPASS-31 for symptom assessment,
- Common comorbidities include hypermobility, ME/CFS, migraine, and MCAS,
- Diagnostic delays average 5–7+ years, longer in females.

➡️Management:
Holistic, multidisciplinary:
- Non-pharmacologic: 3 L water + 10 g salt/day, abdominal compression garments, avoid triggers,
- Pharmacologic (off-label): Midodrine (vasoconstriction), ivabradine/propranolol/pyridostigmine (HR control), fludrocortisone/desmopressin (volume expansion) and central agents (clonidine) for hyperadrenergic cases,
- Exercise : Gradual, recumbent/reconditioning protocols (e.g, Levine/Dallas), pacing to avoid post-exertional malaise(PEM).

➡️Special attention for the following points:
- Paediatric (similar but debated thresholds)
- Neurological (small fibre neuropathy)
- GI (dysmotility)
- Psychological (secondary distress, not primary cause)
- Primary care coordination essential.
- Growing post-COVID burden demands better recognition, research, and equitable multidisciplinary services.

‼️Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) has surged dramatically as a major, debilitating phenotype of long-COVID, with prevalence estimates rising sharply post-infection (from ~1.7% pre-COVID to 3.4% or higher after, and incidence rates increasing over 10-fold in some studies), turning it into a growing public health crisis demanding urgent recognition, multidisciplinary care, and dedicated research funding.

😡One major critical remark: This 2025 POTS review completely ignores the VAGUS NERVE, aka Joffe nerve, and SYMPATHOVAGAL imbalance, a core driver of the exaggerated sympathetic overdrive and orthostatic tachycardia, effectively pulling the rug out from under its pathophysiology section! Not addressing transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) in their treatment section is another blow to this otherwise comprehensive article! @DavidJoffe64
➡️How did this pass peer-review???

Please avoid SARSCOV2, reinfections don’t promise good!
https://t.co/9OJgxJDDxW

[ArianeK 💜 #Care4Complex (she/her) @arianek]

BAM.💥 Another friend of a friend, who was a mis/under-diagnosed presumed LC/ME patient who’s been extremely severely ill and worsening, just got proper testing and now has a major new diagnosis that opens up treatment options! 🙌

They’d experienced another scary decline, and after getting more detail on their symptoms, I strongly suspected they actually had autonomic failure and #Sjogrens. Despite a previous negative ANA, whaddaya know - retesting after getting sicker found a positive ANA + RNP antibodies for #MCTD (Mixed Connective Tissue Disease) a rheum overlap disease that often includes Sjogren’s, which could then be causing SFN + severe #Dysautonomia.

This is why proper diagnostics matters! Overnight you can go from being told you have an untreatable disease and no medical options, to a concrete diagnosis and serious treatment options!

Below in the next post, I’m sharing the list of tests I recommended to them. I strongly believe it is extremely irresponsible for doctors to diagnose anyone with ME or LC before first running these, and almost nobody is currently getting this kind of workup.

EVERY severely ill patient - whether post viral, EDS, or autoimmune phenotype - who has extreme fatigue, POTS, weakness, Dysautonomia, symptoms of small fibre neuropathy (like burning feet), Gastroparesis or swallowing problems, dry eyes/mouth (autonomic and/or Sjogren’s), and/or MCAS should get this entire workup. If you crash especially badly and have PEM, the endocrine section is especially important.

ps. If you’re looking for a good Autonomic Neurologist, see my list embedded here (please add in comments on that thread if I’ve missed anyone). #Dysautonomia #NeuroSjogrens #Care4Complex

[Zil. @foruyummy]

Easy eyeshadow makeup hack for hooded eyes

[TheFrenchie @ML3democrats]

The fact that people need a de@d man’s files to believe a thousand living women…tells you everything about whose voices they value and whose they don’t.

[zellie @zellieimani]

bell hooks wrote, “Sometimes people try to destroy you, precisely because they recognize your power — not because they don’t see it, but because they see it and they don’t want it to exist.”

[Jon Douglas @atranscendedman]

For five years I've lived with long COVID and watched people push for answers without the tools they deserved.

So I'm building TrialPilot, a way to take part in real studies from home.

Any support or sharing would be deeply appreciated. ❤️

https://t.co/PgKofDwIVC

[Jean Twenge (author of 10 RULES, GENERATIONS) @jean_twenge]

💯 I would only add: This doesn't even count the issues with taking that Chromebook home and watching YouTube & streaming instead of doing homework, reading, journaling, or just getting to that state of boredom where kids discover what they're passionate about.

[Jon Douglas @atranscendedman]

Stanford researchers found no clear signs of autoimmunity, EBV reactivation, or microclots in 152 Long COVID patients

They saw lasting immune activation in monocytes, neutrophils, and T/NK cells, even though Paxlovid caused only short-term immune shifts

https://t.co/IzmJWwH5vc

[Preachermom @raisingpks]

@slooterman My daughter is a current junior at Stanford and has a very valid disability designation with accommodations. She has two close friends as well in that same space. She doesn’t use Twitter though! And she’s been more of an influencer in the young adult/pediatric cancer arena.

[Rep. Dan Goldman @RepDanGoldman]

Elon Musk paid an effective tax rate of 3.3%. Jeff Bezos paid 1%.

How? They take out tax-free loans against their stock.

Today I'm introducing the ROBINHOOD Act to tax these loans and generate at least $276B for universal childcare and other programs to restore access to the American Dream.

It’s time for billionaires to pay their fair share.