Research abstract:
Value of circulating cytokine profiling during submaximal exercise testing in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, by Kegan J. Moneghetti, Mehdi Skhiri, Kévin Contrepois, Yukari Kobayashi, Holden Maecker, Mark Davis, Michael Snyder, Francois Haddad & Jose G. Montoya in Nature, Scientific Reports 8: 2779 (2018) [Published online 9 February 2018]
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a heterogeneous syndrome in which patients often experience severe fatigue and malaise following exertion.
Immune and cardiovascular dysfunction have been postulated to play a role in the pathophysiology. We therefore, examined whether cytokine profiling or cardiovascular testing following exercise would differentiate patients with ME/CFS.
Twenty-four ME/CFS patients were matched to 24 sedentary controls and underwent cardiovascular and circulating immune profiling.
Cardiovascular analysis included echocardiography, cardiopulmonary exercise and endothelial function testing. Cytokine and growth factor profiles were analyzed using a 51-plex Luminex bead kit at baseline and 18 hours following exercise.
Cardiac structure and exercise capacity were similar between groups. Sparse partial least square discriminant analyses of cytokine profiles 18 hours post exercise offered the most reliable discrimination between ME/CFS and controls (κ = 0.62(0.34,0.84)).
The most discriminatory cytokines post exercise were CD40L, platelet activator inhibitor, interleukin 1-β, interferon-α and CXCL1.
In conclusion, cytokine profiling following exercise may help differentiate patients with ME/CFS from sedentary controls.
Scope blog post from Stanford Medicine, by Bruce Goldman, February 15, 2018: Exercise elevates blood signature difference between people with, without chronic fatigue syndrome
Health rising blog post, by Cort Johnson, 5 March 2018: Stanford Exercise Study Shows Different Immune Response in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
Solve ME/CFS Initiative blog post: Value of Circulating Cytokine Profiling During Submaximal Exercise Testing in ME/CFS, March 2018
