Clues to a better understanding of chronic fatigue syndrome emerge from major study

Long before the world had heard of long COVID, Sanna Stella experienced first hand how a simple respiratory infection can shape shift into a chronic illness.

In 2014, a case of bronchitis left Stella, a therapist who lives in the Chicago area, with debilitating fatigue.

Within a month, she was barely able to walk from the couch to her kitchen table. Eventually, Stella learned she had chronic fatigue syndrome, now called myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or simply ME/CFS.

Patients can suffer from a range of symptoms, including profound exhaustion, brain fog, and post-exertional malaise, an escalation in symptoms following exertion. There is no FDA approved treatment for the illness, which affects more than 4 million people in the U.S.

Receiving an official diagnosis did little to change Stella's daily reality. "I got pretty frustrated and angry that I was going to be