What we study
The conditions we study
These conditions are often linked. People with one condition frequently have symptoms or diagnoses of the others.
ME/CFS & Long Covid
ME/CFS and Long Covid are debilitating chronic illnesses marked by profound fatigue that doesn't improve with rest, and by Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM), a worsening of symptoms after physical or mental activity most people wouldn't think twice about. Symptoms can affect any body system, including cognitive impairment ("brain fog"), intolerance of standing, pain and intestinal disturbance. The underlying causes are thought to involve immune and biochemical dysfunction, disruption of the gut microbiome, inflammation (particularly in the brain), and impaired energy production at a cellular level.
ANZMES
Dysautonomia & POTS
Dysautonomia is what happens when the autonomic nervous system stops reliably regulating things like heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and temperature, turning everyday moments like standing up, eating or concentrating into something the body has to work hard at. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), the most common form, causes an abnormally large heart-rate increase on standing (30+ bpm in adults, 40+ bpm in teenagers) without a significant drop in blood pressure, leading to dizziness, light-headedness or fainting.
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
Mast cells are immune cells found throughout the body, acting as an early-warning system against injury and infection. In MCAS, they overreact, firing too easily, too often, or in response to triggers that shouldn't cause a reaction at all. Because mast cells sit in nearly every tissue, people with MCAS can have a wide variety of multisystemic illness and symptoms with an inflammatory or allergic theme, from skin flushing and hives to digestive problems, brain fog and a rapid heart rate. Different genetic mutations can underlie the condition, so presentation varies from person to person, which makes MCAS difficult to diagnose by pattern recognition alone.
Hypermobility & Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a group of inherited connective tissue disorders, genetically varied and varied in how they show up in the body. The common thread is joint hypermobility, stretchy skin, and fragile tissue: easy bruising, slow-healing wounds, and scars that heal abnormally. Thirteen subtypes are currently recognised, most commonly Hypermobile (hEDS) and Classical (cEDS), along with Vascular EDS (vEDS), a rarer and more serious subtype affecting blood vessels and organs, which carries its own distinct risks and management needs. Each subtype has its own clinical criteria to guide diagnosis, and two people with the same subtype can still have quite different experiences of it.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia causes chronic widespread pain, along with fatigue, sleep disturbance and cognitive difficulties sometimes called "fibro fog." It's thought to involve central sensitisation, where the nervous system amplifies pain signals more than it should, and it frequently overlaps with conditions like ME/CFS, dysautonomia and irritable bowel syndrome.
... and related dysimmune and neurodiverse conditions.