Alex Coates, PhD

Hemodynamic and Vascular Effects of Different Durations of Lower-Leg Hot-Water Immersion | American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology | American Physiological So... A footbath may be an accessible form of passive heat therapy (PHT) to improve cardiovascular health. As a localized PHT stimulus, it is unclear if longer durations are superior for promoting adaptive ...

@apsphysiology.bsky.social journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1...

YouTube video by Visible A Guide to HRV: The Impact of Movement

Despite the harms of traditional GET, movement within an individual's energy envelope and pacing around small amounts of tolerable movement may sometimes be helpful. See this great video by @putrinolab.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfox...

The EPPL is recruiting for a remote (app-based) pilot study examining whether light, fully self-paced, swimming may be a tolerable form of movement for people with ME/CFS and related conditions, due to the distinct physiological effects of water immersion. #ME/CFS #ME #POTS #LongCovid

Neurovascular Dysregulation and Acute Exercise Intolerance in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Pyridostigmine Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is characterized by intractable fatigue, postexertional malaise, and orthostatic intoleran…

Yes, it’s tricky. There’s a mechanistic rationale as to how it could work, as it helps normalize preload similarly to drugs (such as in this study: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...). That said, over-exertion will always cause PEM, so staying within that energy envelope will be the tricky part

Contact information can be found here: www.exercisephysiologyandperformancelab.com/get-involved

Note: this is not an exercise training or rehabilitation study, and participation is only intended for individuals who can tolerate gentle activity and be in public spaces without triggering PEM. Participants should also be comfortable with swimming, although flotational devices are welcomed.

A light cycling session is available as an optional comparator for those with mild conditions who feel comfortable doing so. If you feel you may be a suitable candidate, please reach out for more details.

Recruitment: We are recruiting adults with mild-to-moderate ME/CFS and related conditions for this study examining short-term symptom and autonomic responses to gentle swimming. Participants will choose their own intensity and duration and may stop at any time. This pilot study is entirely remote.

Swimming may be the ideal form of movement for those that can tolerate it, as the horizontal posture and hydrostatic pressure of water supports passive venous return and reduces orthostatic stress, while cool water exposure may influence autonomic and inflammatory responses.

YouTube video by Visible A Guide to HRV: The Impact of Movement

Despite the harms of traditional GET, movement within an individual's energy envelope and pacing around small amounts of tolerable movement may sometimes be helpful. See this great video by @putrinolab.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfox...

This treatment caused harm, as exercise exacerbated symptoms and led to a worsening of disease severity. Today, it is recommended that patients pace their energy carefully, and stay within their energy envelopes in order to prevent post-exertional malaise / symptom exacerbation.

Background: PwME/CFS experience profound exercise intolerance and post-exertional malaise. Historically, ME/CFS was seen as a psychosomatic disorder, and physiological symptoms were thought to be due to deconditioning. Treatment was Graded Exercise Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

The EPPL is recruiting for a remote (app-based) pilot study examining whether light, fully self-paced, swimming may be a tolerable form of movement for people with ME/CFS and related conditions, due to the distinct physiological effects of water immersion. #ME/CFS #ME #POTS #LongCovid

Crucial paper published Friday that deserves much more attention in the #LongCOVID world: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

TLDR: 13/15 immunocompromised patients who had chronic COVID infections (>200 days) cleared the virus in under 2 weeks when given combo antivirals/monoclonals

1/

Most flowmeters don’t do well with very high ventilations either - so that probably compounded any calibration errors

Occam’s razor says this is a cart calibration / setup issue!

6/ Invasive cardiopulmonary exercise testing (iCPET) in subsets identified preload failure in 96% of Long Covid and 92% of ME patients tested.

An informational graphic titled "SHARED AUTONOMIC & NEUROVASCULAR DYSFUNCTION" under the categories "LATEST RESEARCH" and "ME/LONG COVID." The center features a photo of two researchers in a laboratory wearing white coats, hairnets, and blue gloves, carefully examining a blue liquid in a test tube. Below the image, text reads: "This study shows that Long COVID and ME/CFS share a common autonomic and neurovascular profile, including reduced cerebral blood flow, autonomic dysfunction, and small fiber neuropathy, supporting a shared underlying pathophysiology rather than distinct diseases." The bottom right attributes the source to "Novak et al, 2026, Plos One," and the bottom center features the "LONG COVID ADVOCACY" logo.

1/ A new study from Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, led by prominent researchers Peter Novak, David Systrom, and colleagues, compared 143 Long Covid, 170 ME/CFS, 73 healthy controls, and 290 hEDS patients to map shared autonomic and neurovascular dysfunction. 🧵

The Timing and Relationship of Ventricular Arrhythmia with Exercise Patterns in Veteran Male Endurance Athletes AbstractAim. To determine whether exercise training patterns were associated with the incidence and timing of ventricular arrhythmia in veteran male endura

new 🧵
Maybe myocardial fibrosis is an arrhythmogenic substrate which is activated by intense exercise in certain veteran athletes

Timing and Relationship of Ventricular Arrhythmia with Exercise Patterns in Veteran Male Endurance Athletes url: academic.oup.com/eurjpc/artic...

‘Best speech by a world leader ... in a very long time’: Carney’s Davos address draws global attention Prime Minister Mark Carney’s keynote address at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos has sparked widespread international coverage as global news organizations weigh the future amid rising geopoliti...

www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...

2 million! The scale of people that this review reached is incredible

I can only imagine what the next 3 years of researching and publishing on Long COVID has in store for us 🎢

Large-scale investigation confirms TRPM3 ion channel dysfunction in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome — Martini Sasso et al. "We identified a significant reduction in TRPM3 ion channel function in NK cells isolated from ME/CFS patients, both in response to stimulation with the agonist PregS (p < 0.0001) and in suppression of activation using ononetin (p < 0.0001)."

Large-scale investigation confirms TRPM3 ion channel dysfunction in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

www.frontiersin.org/journals/med...

Screenshot from latest Science for ME weekly update

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome

Notable advances 2025 - Nature Medicine In a year that has dealt many blows to biomedical research, many breakthroughs nevertheless continued to inspire us. From regenerative medicine to reproductive technologies and everything in between - here is our selection of critical developments that moved medicine forward in 2025.

From regenerative medicine to reproductive technologies and everything in between, Nature Medicine gives its selection of critical developments that moved medicine forward in 2025. #medsky 🧪

This is figure 3, which shows the effect of the zoster vaccine on new diagnoses of dementia.

The shingles vaccine reduced the probability of new #dementia diagnoses by around one-fifth over seven years, according to a large-scale study of a population in Wales, UK, reported in Nature in April. go.nature.com/4460AE4 🧪

New study shows Alzheimer’s disease can be reversed to achieve full neurological recovery—not just prevented or slowed—in animal models | CWRU Newsroom | Case Western Reserve University For more than a century, people have considered Alzheimer's disease (AD) an irreversible illness. Consequently, research has focused on preventing or ...

Certainly hopeful news. We lost my father-in-law to dementia. It’s good to see they’re closing in on a cure.

case.edu/news/new-stu...

Defining physiological resilience and durability in the context of endurance performance modeling | Journal of Applied Physiology | American Physiological Society

Together with Andy Jones and Lars Nybo, here is our brief view about:

- How Physiological Resilience and Durability should be distinguished

- How they link the abundant literature on fatigue development with endurance performance models.

journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10....

Doctor in white coat drawing a red heartbeat line ending in a heart symbol with a marker.

How fast blood pressure pulses move through your arteries shows more than stiffness. It reflects artery health and whole body factors that shape your heart risks. More in APS Publications AJP-Heart: https://ow.ly/zGNC50XHCyS #ArticlesInPresS 🧪
📷: iStock

New report in Journal of Applied Physiology studies whether different levels of #carb ingestion by elite male #marathon #runners confer a metabolic advantage by better maintaining whole body rates of carb oxidation & improving running economy 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ https://ow.ly/wg9j50XJSgA

🤦

New link: cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10....