@thesicktimes.org is one of the only newsrooms dedicated to widescale coverage of #LongCOVID. They need our support in their end of year fundraiser. Through their support, I published two major stories this year. 1/🧵 bsky.app/profile/thes...

We’re over halfway through our end-of-year fundraiser, and we’re not where we need to be to keep our vital work going. We have three weeks left to hit our goals of $60,000 and 200 monthly supporters. The #LongCOVID community needs us — we need you! the-sick-times.fundjournalism.org/donate/

I emailed the CBC ombud a complaint about the Gill Deacon segment that platformed the Lightning Process and brain retraining quackery for Long COVID. Here's their response: simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/my-complai...

I'll be writing about #LongCOVID trials in kids for @thesicktimes.org. With the protocol for the LDN trial now available for public comment. I wanted to hear from parents and researchers about their thoughts on the protocol. DM me to get in touch. recovercovid.org/news/recover...

Here's the on point article about Inclusion Canada not doing their due diligence w/their benefits navigation services, and pointing disabled people towards shady 3rd party for-profit services just to access basics like the DTC & #CanadaDisabilityBenefit. www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar... 1/6

Your daily dose of hedgehog

Novo Nordisk's semaglutide fails to slow disease progression in two large Alzheimer's trials. The latest in a series of drugs that appear promising from observational data that fail when put to the test in trials. beingpatient.com/glp-1-diabet...

For up to half of people with #LongCOVID, activities like exercise can trigger post-exertional malaise (PEM). Yet Long COVID clinics around the world are offering exercise as treatment while dismissing its serious harms. Read more from @spichaksimon.bsky.social: bit.ly/4aaDRJW

AI companies will continue exploiting the mental health crisis if we fail to meaningfully address it. My piece up in @canadahealthwatch.ca canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/11/22/i...

If we ignore Canada’s mental health crisis, AI companies will exploit it canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/11/22/i... @spichaksimon.bsky.social

The rationale behind these studies, Seltzer contests, is [that] “it presumes that the patient had never heard of exercise until a doctor told them [it] exists.” Thanks to Simon Spichak for putting this idea into print. I've said multiple times in interviews that it's the strangest part... 🧵

Four in five exercise trials of Long COVID don't even mention post-exertional malaise anywhere in the trial registration. Latest for @thesicktimes.org diving into the problems with these trials. thesicktimes.org/2025/11/21/l...

CBC's flagship program doubles down on quackery, adds patient blaming rhetoric after pushback on the Gill Deacon interview. I've updated the story: simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/cbc-flagsh... Brief summary below with Alt Text.

In a statement, CBC told me: "After reviewing the interview, we concluded that it needed to be re-edited and re-posted to include further context and questions around the procedure and treatment Deacon experienced. That has now been done." Will update the story with this soon.

Our #LongCOVID journalism requires reader support — with your help, we can prepare our non-profit newsroom for whatever 2026 brings. Will you donate today and help us keep this vital work going? the-sick-times.fundjournalism.org/donate/

Day 3 of the @icancmeresearch.bsky.social conference is up as a live thread and now a brief writeup. simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/day-3-of-t...

Thread for Day 3 of the @icancmeresearch.bsky.social conference. My attempt at simultaneously sharing on X and Bsky.

I'll be back live tweeting/skeeting the @icancmeresearch.bsky.social conference tomorrow. Will try to get it going on BlueSky AND X simultaneously. #ICanCME

I wrote about the approval of Leqembi for Alzheimer's in Canada for Being Patient. Compared to other countries, there's less transparency with the approval process. It took more than 2 years for regulators to decide. beingpatient.com/alzheimers-d...

And coverage for Day 1 of the #ICanCMEConference by the @icancmeresearch.bsky.social. Features a link to my live tweets. simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/icancme-da...

Covering the @icancmeresearch.bsky.social live over on the other app. Will be posting a brief summary of the day's talks as well. x.com/SpichakSimon...

#ICanCME2025 is happening this week! This was an initiative driven by people with ME and their loved ones with the support of many along the way! We’re so thankful for everyone’s support so far. And please be patient with us this week if we run into any issues. 🤞💙

I'll be doing asynchronous coverage of the ICanCME Canadian Collaborative Conference on #ME which is going from Nov 4 to 6 this week. Hope to share tweets and short summaries of the talks at the end of the day. icancme.ca/research/202...

Goober is running the bases! ⚾ 🦔

Earlier this week, the CBC broadcast an interview with Gill Deacon, discussing her Long COVID recovery using brain retraining. They didn't tell you the specific brain retraining program, the Lightning Process, has been accused of exploiting patients. simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/cbc-flagsh... 1/n

Happy to share that I've been selected for the @nationalpress.bsky.social Rare Disease Reporting Fellowship. nationalpress.org/newsfeed/npf...

Story in Being Patient about Alzheimer's disease funding noting the decrease in the funding of number of new projects due, in part, to the number of multiyear funded grants from the National Institute on Aging. beingpatient.com/alzheimers-r...

Review of Charles Piller's book "Doctored" about Alzheimer's disease research. beingpatient.com/doctored-cha... 1/4

Alzheimer's research funding is back. But far fewer projects are getting funding. Thanks @jeremymberg.bsky.social for the insights. beingpatient.com/alzheimers-r...

CBC is platforming unproven pseudoscientific brain retraining programs for #LongCOVID. In reality, some people recover others do not, no matter what they try. This approach lays the blame on patients who don't get better because they're not trying hard enough.

As an overall note, people can say shit that sounds good but do absolutely nothing to improve people's quality of life. Take that into consideration on everything you hear.

For a story in @beingpatient.bsky.social, I'm looking to speak with #neurologists who've had healthy patients come to them because they believed they had Alzheimer's after taking a direct-to-consumer Alzheimer's blood test. DM me or get in touch at simon (at) beingpatient (dot) com

Working on a story for @thesicktimes.org about the quality, utility, and risks of exercise trials in Long COVID (and how often they mention/measure PEM). Looking to speak with anyone that's participated in these trials and experienced PEM/other negative side effects as a result.

Digital Cognitive Tests: How AI Tools Could Transform Alzheimer’s Diagnosis and Care beingpatient.com/digital-cogn... by @spichaksimon.bsky.social @beingpatient.bsky.social #Alzheimers #dementia #AI #ArtificialIntelligence

There's a suite of new AI-powered digital cognitive tests coming to market. The goal: Speed up the assessment and spot people who might benefit from more extensive testing sooner. My latest for @beingpatient.bsky.social beingpatient.com/digital-cogn...

Can antivirals against herpes treat early-stage Alzheimer's? At #AAIC2025, researchers presented data from a clinical trial showing no effect. My latest for @beingpatient.bsky.social beingpatient.com/cold-sore-vi... 1/6

Delayed Disability Benefit Leaves Canadians Struggling, Facing Bank Fees They Can't Afford Customers with TD and BMO are affected but it isn't clear how many or when the situation will be fixed. My reporting on the #CDB delay. simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/canada-dis...

When researchers and press offices overhype their findings it can undermine trust and distort expectations for people living with these diseases. A few things I learned as a researcher and now a science journalist. A🧵 1/n

Though blood tests can't predict if a healthy person will get Alzheimer's, many people still want to know their risk. For @beingpatient.bsky.social I covered a recent study that looked at some of the complexity behind learning your risk. 1/n🧵 beingpatient.com/learning-alz...

Welcome to the era of vibes-based medicine! A new study in the Lancet eClinicalMedicine finds that exercise for Long COVID is an effective treatment - and they do that by using studies of people who didn't have Long COVID.

Coca-Cola used to have cocaine. 7-Up's original formula opted for the mood-stabilizing drug lithium. Now the mood-stabilizing drug is back in the news for a different reason - could it slow down Alzheimer's? At @beingpatient.bsky.social we cut through the hype. beingpatient.com/science-behi...

(1/2) Key genetic differences found in people with ME/CFS > Swipe to find out more. These findings reflect the lived experience of thousands of #pwME. Thanks to all our participants & supporters who made this possible! Read a summary of our results: shorturl.at/pgsjk

Six months later: What their response on ME/CFS tells us about the Cochrane Collaboration. New post at Absolutely Maybe .... 1/2 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/07/31/s... #MECFS

🦔 🛞

🩸There are several dozen blood tests to help diagnose Alzheimer's on the market. When should doctors use them?🩸 At the @alzassociation.bsky.social International Conference, the association presented new guidance. My coverage in @beingpatient.bsky.social beingpatient.com/blood-tests-...

🧠 What have we learned about anti-amyloid drugs for #Alzheimer's since 2023? 🧠 My coverage of the real-world data presented at this year's @alzassociation.bsky.social International Conference (#AAIC2025) in Toronto. Read my coverage @beingpatient.bsky.social beingpatient.com/4-questions-...

My coverage of #AAIC2025 is live now on @beingpatient.bsky.social. What's good for the heart appears to be good for the brain, in this observational study. People taking multiple cardiovascular drugs had slower cognitive decline than those who weren't on any. beingpatient.com/aaic-2025-ca...

Had the privilege of being interviewed on the Still Here by @thesicktimes.org discussing my investigative story on Canada's Long COVID guidelines

What can a spider's brain teach us about Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative disease? One of the more fascinating pieces I had the pleasure of working on for @beingpatient.bsky.social www.beingpatient.com/what-can-spi...

My latest for @thesicktimes.bsky.social!