{"id":42278,"date":"2024-02-22T09:13:51","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T09:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/?p=42278"},"modified":"2024-05-15T06:05:43","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T05:05:43","slug":"research-brain-immune-metabolic-abnormalities-linked-in-me-cfs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/research-brain-immune-metabolic-abnormalities-linked-in-me-cfs\/","title":{"rendered":"Research: Brain, immune & metabolic abnormalities linked in ME\/CFS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brain abnormality, not muscle fatigue, found in ME\/CFS<\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

An in-depth study of 17 people with virally triggered ME\/CFS has uncovered an imbalance in brain activity triggered by abnormalities in the immune system. They also found distinct differences between men and women with the disease.<\/p>\n

Brain scans showed that people with ME\/CFS had lower activity in a brain region called the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ), which may cause fatigue by disrupting the way the brain decides how to exert effort.<\/p>\n

They also analysed spinal fluid and found abnormally low levels of catecholamines and other molecules that help regulate the nervous system in people with ME\/CFS.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Deep phenotyping of post-infectious myalgic encephalomyelitis\/ chronic fatigue syndrome<\/a>, by Avindra Nath et al in<\/span> Nature Communications<\/em> vol 15, no. 907 (2024)<\/h3>\n

Research abstract:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Post-infectious myalgic encephalomyelitis\/chronic fatigue syndrome (PI-ME\/CFS) is a disabling disorder, yet the clinical phenotype<\/a> is poorly defined, the pathophysiology is unknown, and no disease-modifying treatments are available.<\/p>\n

We used rigorous criteria to recruit PI-ME\/CFS participants with matched controls to conduct deep phenotyping. Among the many physical and cognitive complaints, one defining feature of PI-ME\/CFS was an alteration of effort preference, rather than physical or central fatigue, due to dysfunction of integrative brain regions potentially associated with central catechol pathway dysregulation, with consequences on autonomic functioning and physical conditioning.<\/p>\n

Immune profiling suggested chronic antigenic stimulation with increase in na\u00efve and decrease in switched memory B-cells. Alterations in gene expression profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and metabolic pathways were consistent with cellular phenotypic studies and demonstrated differences according to sex.<\/p>\n

Together these clinical abnormalities and biomarker differences provide unique insight into the underlying pathophysiology of PI-ME\/CFS, which may guide future intervention.<\/p>\n

See also:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

MERUK:<\/strong> NIH ME\/CFS Deep Phenotyping Study: Part 1. Overview<\/a><\/p>\n

MERUK:<\/strong> NIH ME\/CFS Deep Phenotyping Study: Part 2. Methods<\/a><\/p>\n

Health rising:<\/strong> The Nath ME\/CFS Intramural Study Pt. I: \u201cIt\u2019s a Brain Disease\u2026\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Health rising:<\/strong> The Nath Intramural ME\/CFS Study Pt. II: Missed Opportunities, Misreadings and\u2026 Success (?)<\/a><\/p>\n

Guardian<\/strong>: Scientists find link between brain imbalance and chronic fatigue syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe brain can respond to stimuli and impact on the body,\u201d says Prof Karl Morten from Oxford University. \u201cThe brain is physically, biochemically not functioning properly and it\u2019s the illness that\u2019s doing that, not the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

NIH<\/strong>: NIH study offers new clues into the causes of post-infectious ME\/CFS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that the immune activation is affecting the brain in various ways, causing biochemical changes and downstream effects like motor, autonomic, and cardiorespiratory dysfunction,\u201d said Avindra Nath, senior author of the study.<\/p>\n

JAMA<\/strong>: NIH Study Provides Long-Awaited Insight Into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis\/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, what we show is that ME\/CFS is unambiguously biological, with multiple organ systems affected,\u201d researcher Nath said. \u201cIt\u2019s a systemic disease, and the people living with it deserve to have their experiences taken seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nath also noted that even if people who display ME\/CFS-like symptoms don\u2019t have ME\/CFS, they may have another condition for which medical attention would be beneficial, it just hasn\u2019t been diagnosed yet.<\/p>\n

Sci Am:<\/strong> Large study of ME\/CFS patients reveals measurable physical changes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brain abnormality, not muscle fatigue, found in ME\/CFS   An in-depth study of 17 people with virally triggered ME\/CFS has uncovered an imbalance in brain activity triggered by abnormalities in the immune system. They also found distinct differences between men … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5qkYK-aZU","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42278"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43154,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42278\/revisions\/43154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}