New research appears to provide long-sought insight into the perplexing and devastating condition known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. A National Institutes of Health-led study found several potentially important differences in the brain and immune systems of ME/CFS patients compared to healthy controls. Researchers say this finding could help point to potential treatments in the future.
ME/CFS is a debilitating disease.the characteristic According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is caused by three core symptoms: Significant decline in daily functioning and long-term fatigue (lasting at least 6 months), fatigue that is not brought on by strenuous exercise and not relieved by rest. Also known as post-exertional malaise, symptoms worsen after continuing to do activities that previously did not tire you. And sleep issues. Patients often also experience a variety of other health problems, such as brain fog, increased blood pressure when standing up, chronic pain, and digestive problems.
Although the term chronic fatigue syndrome was first coined in the 1980s, reports of similar illnesses date back to the early 20th century. For much of its history, ME/CFS has been viewed by the public and some physicians as a purely mental disorder, and as a result, patients have struggled to be recognized and receive treatment. This is one reason why advocates prefer the term myalgic encephalomyelitis to chronic fatigue). Recently, healthcare organizations are facing the following challenges: consensus view When it comes to ME/CFS as a physiological disease, there are no easy answers.
ME/CFS is primarily a post-infectious condition, thought to be caused by the body’s dysfunctional response to bacteria. There appear to be some pathogens that are more likely to cause her ME/CFS than others, such as the Epstein-Barr virus. And some experts argue that at least some long-term COVID-19 cases are actually ME/CFS cases caused by the coronavirus. However, it appears that only a small percentage of people develop ME/CFS (one estimate by the National Academy of Medicine suggests that up to 2.5 million Americans may be living with ME/CFS). there is). And scientists still don’t understand how this condition manifests after infection, nor have there been established biomarkers to easily diagnose it. There are also no approved treatments.
This new research published Wednesday, published in the journal Nature Communications, may be one of the most comprehensive analyzes of ME/CFS patients to date. The study was led by National Institutes of Health scientists as part of an effort begun in 2016 to study the disease. The researchers recruited volunteers suspected of having ME/CFS and ultimately selected 17 patients to undergo a series of medical tests, including spinal fluid samples, brain scans, skin biopsies, and blood tests. These patients were then matched with healthy controls.
Researchers found clear biological differences in ME/CFS patients compared to baseline controls. For example, patients were more likely to have decreased brain activity in the temporoparietal junction region of the brain. They also tend to have lower levels of neurotransmitters called catecholamines and have altered levels in certain immune cells, which can lead to signs of immune fatigue.
“Me/CFS patients have very real and disabling symptoms, but their biological basis is extremely difficult to understand,” says the NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. NINDS Director Walter Korosietz said in the paper. statement. “This detailed study of a small number of people identified a number of factors that are likely to contribute to their ME/CFS.”
Although the team has deeply investigated the physiology of these patients, their results are still based on a small sample size (one unexpected factor in this is the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic). (as further recruitment has been suspended). Therefore, these results may not be generalizable to the broader population of ME/CFS patients. But researchers say their work already provides important clues about how the disease actually causes symptoms in people.
They found no clear differences in the way CFS/ME patients’ muscles worked, which could explain their unusual fatigue when performing physical tasks, for example. However, they discovered strange patterns of brain activity in people’s motor cortex during these tasks. The authors argue that immune and other disruptions seen in ME/CFS cause brain regions to malfunction, which may unconsciously influence our perception of our bodies’ performance. ing. This impairment can lead to a long-term decline in physical activity in people, Other body changes It just makes it harder to perform tasks that were once normal.
“We may have identified a physiological focus of fatigue in this population,” NINDS principal investigator Brian Wallitt said in a statement. “Rather than physical fatigue or lack of motivation, fatigue can result from a mismatch between what you think you can accomplish and how your body is performing.”
If Wallitt and his team’s hypothesis is correct, it would be possible to reverse these changes by attacking the root causes of ME/CFS, such as drugs that can scavenge foreign antigens that put the immune system into overdrive. Maybe. However, we also found differences between men and women with ME/CFS. Therefore, truly treating this condition may require a combination of treatments tailored to a person’s personal biology. But for now, these discoveries lead to new avenues of research that could offer hope for ME/CFS patients in the near future.
“Going forward, researchers can test whether these findings apply to a larger group of patients and move toward identifying treatments that target core factors of the disease,” Koroshetz said. Ta.
