The About ME/CFS Research Archive is an open-access, non-profit digital repository dedicated to preserving, organizing, and synthesizing biomedical research on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), Long COVID, and complex chronic neuro-immune conditions.

Our Origins & Founder Legacy: Cort Johnson

Founded in the mid-2000s by citizen science pioneer Cort Johnson (who subsequently went on to establish Phoenix Rising and Health Rising), aboutmecfs.org was among the very first digital publications in the world to provide rigorous, patient-centered investigative reporting on post-infectious illnesses.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, this domain served as a vital international hub connecting bed-bound patients with cutting-edge symposiums (such as the IACFS/ME conferences), investigative reports on retroviral research, biochemical protocols (such as Dr. Richard Van Konynenburg's methylation cycle work), and indispensable legal frameworks for obtaining Social Security disability benefits.

The 2026 Relaunch: Meeting the Post-Viral Crisis

Following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, an estimated 65 million individuals worldwide developed Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (Long COVID). Medical researchers quickly recognized that the profound exercise intolerance, cognitive fog, autonomic instability, and mitochondrial failure observed in Long COVID are clinically identical to ME/CFS.

This modernized archive preserves the historical foundation of ME/CFS citizen science while integrating contemporary peer-reviewed discoveries from leading immunology institutes worldwide.

Strict Editorial Policy & E-E-A-T Principles

In adherence to Google’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) guidelines for Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) health platforms, our editorial team follows rigorous standards:

  1. Peer-Reviewed Medical Citations: All clinical discussions, metabolic assertions, and physiological mechanisms cite peer-reviewed medical publications indexed in the National Library of Medicine (PubMed), complete with direct PMID links.
  2. Clear Distinction Between Hypotheses and Validated Treatments: We explicitly distinguish between preliminary laboratory hypotheses, small-scale clinical pilots, and established standards of care to ensure patients and clinicians possess clear, unvarnished expectations.
  3. Zero Pharmaceutical or Commercial Affiliations: We maintain strict editorial independence. We do not sell proprietary supplements, accept pharmaceutical advertising, or participate in paid endorsement schemes.
  4. Accessible Patient Communication: Recognizing that many readers suffer from severe sensory sensitivity and cognitive fatigue ("brain fog"), our articles are structured with high-contrast typography, generous line spacing (1.7), clear subheadings, and digestible executive summaries.

Academic Collaboration & Citation Permissions

Non-profit organizations, patient support charities, disability advocacy attorneys, and academic researchers are granted open permission to quote and reference materials from this archive under fair-use standards with proper attribution to aboutmecfs.org.

For corrections, peer review submissions, or archival questions, please visit our Contact Page.