Could This Be a Turning Point for ME/CFS and Long Covid? New Book Explores German Research Breakthroughs and Potential Treatment

As featured in The Irish Times

A new book, Understanding ME/CFS & Strategies for Healing, reveals cutting-edge research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long Covid — and introduces what could become the first medication in the world specifically designed for these conditions.

Written by Irish ME/CFS patient and advocate Patrick Ussher, the book presents an accessible summary of a landmark research model developed by German scientists Prof. Carmen Scheibenbogen and Prof. Klaus Wirth. Their research proposes a “unifying model” of ME/CFS and Long Covid — showing how many previously disconnected findings are, in fact, parts of a single, interlinked disease mechanism.

The model describes a cascade of vicious physiological cycles — including autoimmunity, vascular dysfunction, and cellular energy failure — that could finally explain the complex symptoms experienced by millions worldwide. According to Ussher, this breakthrough “could demystify an illness that has perplexed doctors and researchers for decades.”

Crucially, the book also raises awareness of a potential future medication: Mitodicure — a compound being developed by Prof. Wirth to target the core cellular bottleneck believed to lie at the heart of both ME/CFS and Long Covid. While funding is still being sought for clinical trials,  Mitodicure is intended, in principle, to be curative.

Prof. Wirth also wrote the book’s foreword, describing his own work on ME/CFS and the proposed mechanism of action underlying his medication.

In addition to summarizing the latest science, the book offers practical treatment strategies for improving quality of life — all grounded in emerging research and patient insights.

ME/CFS and Long Covid are estimated to affect over 80 million people globally, yet remain under-researched, under-treated, and often misunderstood.

Understanding ME/CFS & Strategies for Healing has been featured in The Irish Times and also reviewed in The Medical Independent, one of Ireland’s leading publications for healthcare professionals.

A YouTube interview with Prof. Klaus Wirth, conducted by Ussher — where Wirth discusses both the research and the development of Mitodicure — is also now available.

"Understanding ME/CFS & Strategies for Healing offers one patient's view through the long grass which has grown around an illness badly served by medical dogmatists, and it is a view which readers have much to learn from. It could herald a sea change in how ME/CFS is researched, managed, treated... and, just possibly, cured."
— George Winter, The Medical Independent

For Review Copies or Interviews

Journalists interested in receiving a review copy or arranging an interview with Patrick Ussher and/or Prof. Klaus Wirth are warmly invited to get in touch via the contact details provided.

About Patrick Ussher

Patrick Ussher has lived with ME/CFS for seven years. He runs a YouTube channel dedicated to distilling the latest research and treatment strategies for fellow patients, and has written regularly for patient publications and given talks for the Irish ME Trust. In addition to his advocacy work, he is also a composer of contemporary classical music and the author of several books on Stoic philosophy. See his personal website for more information.