Q and A: about health and research

Despite a growing body of research on ME/CFS and Long COVID, one critical system remains conspicuously underrepresented in scientific discourse: the endocrine system—particularly the hypothalamic-pituitary (HPA) axis, a central regulator of metabolism, stress response, and immune coordination. This is not a minor oversight. It raises urgent questions about the direction and priorities of current research. Is the neglect of endocrine involvement rooted in persistent gaps in medical education? A lack of precise diagnostic tools? Or is it indicative of a broader systemic failure in how research agendas are set and funded? Whatever the cause, the consequences are tangible. The number of individuals affected by ME/CFS and Long COVID continues to climb, while progress in diagnostics and therapeutics remains frustratingly slow. Crucially, the sidelining of hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction stands in stark contradiction to decades of endocrinological evidence. The HPA axis plays a well-do...