Research abstract

Objectives: Previous research has provided evidence for dysregulation
in peripheral cytokines in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). To date only one study has examined cytokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of CFS/ME patients. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the role of cytokines in CSF of CFS/ME patients.

Methods: CSF was collected from 18 CFS/ME patients and 5 healthy controls. The CSF samples were examined for the expression of 27 cytokines [interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-1ra, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, basic FGF, eotaxin, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IP-10, MCP-1 (MCAF), MIP-1α, MIP-1β, PDGF-BB, RANTES, TNF-α and VEGF] using the bio-plex human cytokine 27-plex assay.

Results: Of the 27 cytokines examined, only IL-10 was significantly reduced in the CFS/ME patients in comparison to the controls.

Conclusions: This preliminary investigation suggests that perturbations in inflammatory cytokines in the CSF of CFS/ME patients may contribute to the neurological discrepancies observed in CFS/ME.

Cytokines in the Cerebrospinal Fluids of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, by D Peterson, EW Brenu, G Gottschalk, S Ramos, T Ngyuen, D Staines, S Marshall-Gradisnik, in Mediators of Inflammation Vol 2015 , Article ID 929720, 4 pages