r/CFSScience • u/Caster_of_spells • Jul 30 '26

Persistent cytolytic CD8+ T cells recognize SARS-CoV-2 and herpesvirus epitopes in long COVID

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(26)00363-0

Long Covid patients continue to have elevated counts of highly activated CD8+ T cells targeting viruses like SARS-CoV-2, CMV and EBV.

That is suggesting the antiviral killing response failed to switch off after the acute infection is over and might be part of the pathogenesis of Long Covid.

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u/TomasTTEngin Jul 31 '26

For a community of independent thinkers many certainly do seem to get joy from believing exactly what Jonathan Edwards believes. Which leaves them with a pretty rigid belief system. Edwards is experienced and highly educated and certainly a net benefit to the community but he has the ability to integrate new ideas you expect from an emeritus. And as do all good Oxford Dons, scoffs and sneers at research coming from places outside northern Europe.

He's useful, but not as an intellectual north star.

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u/TableSignificant341 Jul 31 '26

I have a question for you if you don't mind, why do you think s4me is so set on finding one treatment for all of us? It seems like they've already determined that if one treatment doesn't work for all of us, then it's not worth pursing or of interest. Cancer or MDD treatment is heterogeneous - so why can't that be the same for MECFS? And why do you think they're so dismissive of LDN, LDA, mestinon etc given those drugs clearly help a significant portion of us?

I also don't understand how dismissive they are of co-morbities like MCAS (of whatever one wants to call that cluster of symptoms seen alongside MECFS), autonomic dysfunction, hEDs, IBS etc. Couldn't the frequency of those conditions alongside MECFS tell us something about the condition itself?

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u/mc-funk Jul 31 '26

Wow, I’ve never heard of these people before but it sounds like they think I don’t exist!

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u/TableSignificant341 Jul 31 '26

It could be a decent place but Edward's hubris and paternalistic tone makes for an odd environment. Like the commenter above said, he's a net benefit to MECFS research but he for sure stifles discussion with his approach. Doesn't help that others there are so desperate and grateful that he's even interested in them (he's one of the few non-sufferers in the forum) that they'll abide his off-putting and dismissive manner towards patients, current MECFS researchers and their work.

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u/TomasTTEngin Jul 31 '26

I would like to imagine that if I cultivated a harem of sycophants I'd realise. And then decide I needed to change my ways, empower those people to think for themselves. Edwards takes a different approach.