Lisa Hall, a Registered Nurse at Northampton Integrative Medicine, and chronic fatigue syndrome patient Rivka Solomon join Carrie Saldo to shed light on the symptoms of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, its treatment, and what it’s like living with the condition.
OMF-Funded Research Overview 2018
From Open Medicine Foundation.
I am proud to share with you the new and expanding research projects that we are funding this year. As we have recently shared, research is quickly expanding. We look forward to continuing to share updates with you about our exciting Collaborative Research Centers at Stanford and Harvard and all of our research projects. We invite you to continue to support our efforts to fund these teams of expert scientists pursuing our common goal: End ME/CFS.
We are confident that our research is leading us to answers. To keep this momentum growing, we count on your support. Whether you can donate $5, $500, or $5,000, every gift makes a difference in supporting research and delivering hope. Please donate today.
And please help us to grow by spreading our news. Forward this email to your family and friends and invite them to personally sign up to receive our news in their inbox to stay informed.
I am looking forward to seeing all who are attending the Invest in ME Research International Conference next week in London. I will be attending the Conference and the Biomedical Research into ME Colloquium along with 6 of our scientific advisory board members. If you are attending, please come visit us at our table on June 1st so that we can say hello in person.
With hope for all,
Linda Tannenbaum
CEO/President
linda@omf.ngo
ME/CFS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH CENTER AT STANFORD
OMF is continuing to fund the ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Stanford. These are the projects currently underway:
- T cells and immunology Michael Sikora, in collaboration with Mark Davis, PhD, Lars Steinmetz, PhD, and Ron Davis, PhD, at Stanford University, will examine the role of T cells and immune-related genes in ME/CFS. This may help address the outstanding question of whether ME/CFS is an autoimmune or infectious disease, or simply an activation of the immune system. Click here to read more about the plans for this study.
- Extended big data study in families Fereshteh Kenari Jahaniani, PhD, in collaboration with Mike Snyder, PhD, and Ron Davis, PhD, of Stanford University, are generating multiple large datasets (genomics, gene expression, metabolomics, proteomics, and cytokines) in a cohort of patients and their families. By comparing patients to healthy blood relatives, we are more likely to understand what genes cause or contribute to the development of ME/CFS. This data will also be integrated with the Severely ill Patients (Big Data) Study (SIPS) , providing important validation and extension of those findings. Read and watch more about the multi-omics approach.
- Diagnostic and drug-screening technology development Four technologies are being developed that could provide a biomarker for ME/CFS. Dr. Davis’s team is dedicated to developing these into inexpensive tests that can be easily used in a doctor’s office. In the future, all patients will be measured on all of these diagnostic platforms, enabling us to compare their efficacy and determine what combination of them will be most useful to export for diagnostic testing. Click here to read more about the plans for this study.
- Nanoneedle: Rahim Esfandyarpour, PhD, in collaboration with Ron Davis, PhD, is validating and further developing the nanoneedle biosensor platform, which has shown promise as a blood-based diagnostic for ME/CFS. This is a nanofabricated device that measures electrical impedence from a drop of blood. Thus far, this test is able to distinguish ME/CFS patients from healthy controls. The technology will be optimized for easy clinical adoption and scaled up so that numerous FDA-approved drugs can be simultaneously screened as potential treatments. Click here to read more about why a blood-based diagnostic could be a game-changer.
- Magnetic Levitation Device: Gozde Durmus, PhD, in collaboration with Ron Davis, PhD, has been developing a magnetic levitation device. This device uses a ferrofluid in a glass capillary surrounded by permanent magnets. This generates a density gradient and cells move to their respective densities in the capillary. Their position is imaged by a camera from a smart phone. It was discovered that white blood cells from ME/CFS patients are less dense than healthy controls. One patient was followed for several months, consistently showing a light density. It was further observed that there was a correlation between the lightness of the cells and the severity of symptoms. This could be a very inexpensive diagnostic test, and more patients will be tested in 2018.
- Red Blood Cell Deformability Test: Mohsen Nemat-Gorgani, PhD, of Stanford University, and Anand Ramasubramanian, PhD, of San Jose State University, in collaboration with Ron Davis, PhD, are developing a micro-fluidic device that measures blood flow and deformability of red blood cells. In preliminary results, the red blood cells of ME/CFS patients and healthy controls differ in their time of entry into a capillary, rate of movement through the capillary, and the extent of deformation of the cell in the capillary. This has the potential to be yet another biomarker that would only require a drop of blood. (More)
- Mitochondrial Function Test: Julie Wilhelmy, in Dr. Davis’s lab, has developed a protocol using the Seahorse instrument that measures mitochondrial function. This protocol reveals a significant difference between activated T-cells of ME/CFS patients and healthy controls. The instrument is commercially available, which will allow other laboratories to easily reproduce our results.
- Metabolic Trap Dr. Robert Phair, PhD, of Integrated Bioinformatics, Inc, has been working with Dr. Davis’s team at Stanford. He has found a metabolic pathway in ME/CFS patients that he hypothesizes to be stuck in a “trap” in an unhealthy state. His metabolic trap hypothesis emerged from genetic and metabolomics data from the Severely ill Patients Study (SIPS) combined with published enzymatic kinetics using mechanistic computational modeling. Dr. Phair and the team are eager to test this hypothesis as fast as possible, as it could be the underlying cause of ME/CFS and lead to effective treatment. (More) Read Health Rising’s article about the Metabolic Trap
OTHER EXCITING PROJECTS FUNDED BY OMF:
ME/CFS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH CENTER AT HARVARD
OMF has newly awarded a grant totaling $1.8 million to establish a new ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Harvard. The new Harvard Center will be led by OMF Scientific Advisory Board members Ronald G. Tompkins, MD, ScD, and Wenzhong Xiao, PhD, and will work synergistically with the ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Stanford led by Ronald W. Davis, PhD, of Stanford University, also funded by OMF. All science funded by OMF continues to be under the overall direction of our Scientific Advisory Board, directed by Ron Davis. Click here for more information.
Stanford ME/CFS Data Management and Coordination Center
OMF is also funding the expansion of the Stanford Data Center for the Severely Ill Patients (SIPS) Study to encompass all the data from the Stanford and Harvard ME/CFS Collaborative Research Centers, as well as data from any other research we are funding. The clinical results from the SIPS are currently already open to researchers with access via our website. This expanded data center will give researchers quick access to massive amounts of research data.
Analyzing Patient Data Study
This retrospective study aims to analyze the clinical records and test results of thousands of patients from 9 ME/CFS specialists. (More)
Hormones, Proteins, Autoantibodies
Jonas Bergquist, MD, PhD, is validating his autoantibody findings, as well as measuring proteins and steroid hormones in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. (More)
Metabolomics Validation Study
Robert K. Naviaux, MD, PhD’s 2016 ME/CFS metabolomics study is being expanded to include additional validation studies with Oliver Fiehn, PhD, and his team at the West Coast Metabolomics Center (WCMC), University of California, Davis (UCD). (More)
Second Annual Collaborative Team Meeting on the Molecular Basis of ME/CFS at Stanford University
This year our collaborative team meeting will be expanded to three days, September 26-28. The first two days will allow for in-depth scientific discussion of recent ME/CFS research results. On the third day we will establish collaborations and discuss the most effective path forward to expedite ME/CFS research. At this groundbreaking scientific conference, over 30 international researchers will share unpublished data and ideas. Sharing unpublished data is a very effective way to accelerate the research because scientists can consider these results without waiting for publication. This interdisciplinary team of experts in numerous fields, including Nobel laureates, and several members of the National Academy of Sciences, will discuss genetics, metabolism, immunology, data integration, related diseases, drug discovery, and lessons from these and other fields for ME/CFS research.
Second Annual Community Symposium on the Molecular Basis of ME/CFS at Stanford University – September 29
The Community Symposium will take place on Saturday, September 29. At the Community Symposium, the scientists will update patients and any interested members of the public on the latest research and our progress towards understanding the molecular basis of ME/CFS and our plans for the future. Come hear from our amazing team in person. If you can’t attend, the symposium will be livestreamed. Registration information for the Community Symposium will be coming out soon.
M.E. highlighted at the 71st World Health Assembly
Press Release: Action for ME, May 23, 2018
The need for accelerated biomedical research, and training and education for health professionals has been highlighted at the first-ever World Health Assembly side event focused on M.E.
Taking place last night in Geneva and held by the International Alliance for M.E. (IAFME), led by Action for M.E. and hosted by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), the aim of the event was to raise awareness and understanding of M.E. among international policy-makers, and to build connections with other public health organisations and individuals who support the IAFME’s goal of achieving a global public health response to M.E.
Those attending were visibly shocked by a short screening from Jen Brea’s award-winning documentary Unrest, showing the devastating impact of M.E. on people across the world. Afterwards, panel members Sonya Chowdhury, Prof Chris Ponting, Greg Perry and M.E. patient Steven offered their view on the challenges facing people affected by M.E., and those that support them, and the steps that must be taken to address these.
“It is not OK that people with M.E. are being told there is nothing wrong with them, whether that’s one person, 100 people, or 35 million people – which is the latest estimated number of people with M.E., using data from a new research due to be published,” said Sonya Chowdhury, Chief Executive, Action for M.E. “The universal health coverage championed by the World Health Organisation must include coverage for every single person. They must not turn their backs on one person with M.E., let alone 35 million.”
Steven, who lives on the French-Swiss border, described the difficulties he faced in getting a diagnosis, and we also heard, via video, from Dr Nina Muirhead, a UK surgeon living with M.E. “It is true of most hospital doctors that they do not know about, or understand, M.E./CFS,” she said. “This was the case for me before I got ill in 2016.” You can watch Nina’s video on the IAFME Facebook page.
Turning to the urgent need for accelerated biomedical research, Prof Chris Ponting, University of Edinburgh, suggested four key areas of focus: a large-scale genome-wide association study that will help us understand the genetics of M.E.; cheap, longitudinal, population-scale immune system surveys; molecular and physiological measurements of people with M.E. following exercise; and taking action to ensure that case-control studies use more appropriate control cohorts with individuals with sedentary lives. He was also emphatic about the need to bring more new and established scientists into the field.
Our final speaker was Greg Perry, Assistant Director General, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations. “I am struck by the fact that M.E. has been around for a long time, but there has still not been any real progress ,” he said. “I do think that the World Health Organisation is a hub of innovate thinking, so there are great opportunities here to focus on this neglected disease.”
During a lively discussion, moderated by Alexandra Heumber, Head of International Advocacy and Coordinator of the IAFME, based in Geneva, the panel heard from people directly affected by M.E., and from those working within global health policy. They reinforced the need for global leadership from the World Health Organisation in setting-up a framework, at global level, that guides and supports policy-makers and health professionals whose decisions impact the lives of those with M.E.
We are hugely grateful to Dr Cary Adams, Chief Executive, UICC, for hosting this event, and for everyone who contributed, particularly those affected by M.E.
Love Means Never Having to Say … Anything
By Jamison Hill, New York Times, May 25, 2018
After dating Shannon for several months, I needed to say something to her, but I couldn’t. It’s not that I was nervous or unsure of the phrasing. It’s that I couldn’t speak. My lungs and larynx couldn’t create the air pressure and vibrations needed to say the words floating around my mind.
This is our reality. I can’t talk to Shannon about anything — not the weather or her day or how beautiful she is. Worst of all, I can’t tell her I love her.
You can read the rest of this moving essay HERE.
_____________________________
About the author: A graduate of Sonoma State University, Jamison Hill is a former bodybuilder, model, and fitness instructor. He has written for, among others, The Washington Post, Men’s Journal, The Los Angeles Times, Vox, Quartz, VICE and The New York Times. Jamison appeared in the documentary, Forgotten Plague, and his story is featured in an upcoming Netflix documentary about mysterious diseases. He writes about living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Lyme disease at JamisonWrites.com. Jamison is currently finishing his memoir, When Force Meets Fate.
Transient Receptor Potential Ion Channels in the Etiology and Pathomechanism of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Abstract:
Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is a disabling condition of unknown cause having multi-system manifestations. Our group has investigated the potential role of transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels in the etiology and pathomechanism of this illness. Store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) signaling is the primary intracellular calcium signaling mechanism in non-excitable cells and is associated with TRP ion channels. While the sub-family (Canonical) TRPC has been traditionally associated with this important cellular mechanism, a member of the TRPM sub-family group (Melastatin), TRPM3, has also been recently identified as participating in SOCE in white matter of the central nervous system. We have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TRP genes in natural killer (NK) cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in CFS/ME patients. We also describe biochemical pathway changes and calcium signaling perturbations in blood cells from patients. The ubiquitous distribution of TRP ion channels and specific locations of sub-family group members such as TRPM3 suggest a contribution to systemic pathology in CFS/ME.
Source: D. Staines, S. Du Preez, H. Cabanas, C. Balinas, N. Eaton, R. Passmore, R. Maksoud, J. Redmayne, S. Marshall-Gradisnik. Transient Receptor Potential Ion Channels in the Etiology and Pathomechanism of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. IJCM, Vol.9 No.5, May 2018. DOI: 10.4236/ijcm.2018.95038
OMF creates new Harvard ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center and expands Stanford Data Center
We are proud to announce that OMF has funded $1.8 million for the establishment of a new ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at the Harvard Medical School affiliated hospitals, which includes Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
The new Harvard Center will be led by OMF Scientific Advisory Board members Ronald G. Tompkins, MD, ScD, and Wenzhong Xiao, PhD, of Harvard University and will work synergistically with the ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Stanford led by Ronald W. Davis, PhD, of Stanford University, also funded by OMF. All science funded by OMF continues to be under the overall direction of our Scientific Advisory Board, directed by Ron Davis.
The goals for this new Harvard Collaborative Center are twofold. First is a basic research goal: to collect molecular data on muscle and other tissues affected by ME/CFS. Studies will include evaluation of patient muscle biopsies as compared to controls including genomics, proteomics, and ultrastructural analysis. Dr. Tompkins has extensive experience with such analysis on tissue from burn patients. He will be able to perform muscle biopsies, and possibly biopsies of other tissue types, greatly expanding the research, which has so far involved the analysis of blood cells. One focus of this new work will be to investigate the etiology of Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM).
The second goal is to establish a Clinical Trials Network to facilitate multi-center clinical studies on potential effective treatments for ME/CFS. The clinical resources at the MGH under Ron Tompkins, MD, are very extensive, making this an ideal site for overseeing and conducting clinical studies. This is a great opportunity to establish standards and the infrastructure for rigorous clinical trials.
Stanford ME/CFS Data Management and Coordination Center:
OMF is also funding the expansion of the Stanford Data Center for the Severely Ill Patients (SIPS) Study to encompass all the data from the Stanford and Harvard ME/CFS Collaborative Research Centers, as well as data from any other research we are funding.
The clinical results from the SIPS are currently already open to researchers with access via our website. This expanded data center will give researchers quick access to massive amounts of research data.
“These are exciting and important steps forward in our work to end ME/CFS, which we were able to take thanks to the dedication and donations of our many supporters. Thank you all for helping to make this possible and for being our partners in the urgent effort to put an end to this devastating disease.” – Linda Tannenbaum, CEO/President
Comparing Post-Exertional Symptoms following serial exercise tests
Abstract/Artist Statement:
Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is an exacerbation of symptoms that leads to a reduction in functional ability. Recognizing the triggers, onset, symptoms and duration of PEM is important for the diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). PEM following serial exercise tests has not been examined.
PURPOSE: To compare descriptions of symptoms by ME/CFS and control subjects after two maximal exercise tests, each separated by 24 hours.
METHODS: Open-ended questionnaires were provided to 10 control subjects and 49 ME/CFS patients who underwent two maximal exercise tests, 24 hours apart. Each subject evaluated how they felt immediately after the first exercise test, before and immediately after the second exercise test, 24 hours after the second exercise test and in the week following the tests. Responses were analyzed and categorized by two reviewers, blinded to subject diagnosis.
RESULTS: Over the two days of testing, ME/CFS subjects reported an average of 15.4±7.7 symptoms compared to 5.5±1.8 in the control group. Following the tests, ME/CFS subjects reported an average of 5.0±2.8 symptoms compared to 0.1±0.3 in the control group. Among the ME/CFS subjects, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and sleep problems were reported with the greatest frequency. Out of the eighteen symptom categories, ME/CFS subjects reported seventeen at a higher frequency than control subjects. The largest differences were observed in cognitive dysfunction, headache, light-headedness, muscle/joint pain and weakness. Other symptoms included decreased function, pain, flu-like and gastrointestinal symptoms. Forty-nine percent of ME/CFS subjects recovered within an average of 4.5 days while fifty-one percent had not recovered by day seven. In contrast, all but one control subject recovered within 1 day.
CONCLUSION: A standardized exertional stimulus produces prolonged and more diverse symptoms in ME/CFS subjects compared with those seen in control subjects. Understanding PEM more comprehensively may provide clues to the underlying pathophysiology of ME/CFS and lead to improved diagnosis and treatment.
Source: Lariel J. Mateo, University of the Pacific. Comparing Post-Exertional Symptoms following serial exercise tests. Poster presentation, April 4, 2018. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/purcc/2018/events/87/
May 12 Letter to the World Health Organization
Note: Following is a letter sent to the WHO by The International Alliance for M.E. to increase international recognition of and funding for ME/CFS. You can read a PDF file of the letter HERE.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
World Health Organisation
Avenue Appia 20
1202 Geneva
11 May 2018
CC Dr Svetlana Akselrod, Assistant Director General for Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health
Dear Dr Tedros
Urgent action to address M.E. globally: a neglected NCD
Tomorrow, on 12th May, people across the globe will come together in public spaces, at government buildings, online and in their homes to ask: ‘Can you see M.E. now?’ You can see their films, photographs and stories, shared for this global M.E. Awareness Day event, at http://www.facebook.com/MEActNet and www.twitter.com/IAforME
M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is a complex, disabling, chronic, fluctuating, neurological condition of unknown aetiology. It is sometimes diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS/M.E. It is a disease which affects 20,000,000 individuals of all ages and from all
ethnic groups – and the families around them – causing significant personal, social and economic hardship.
The US government’s landmark report, Beyond M.E./CFS: redefining an illness, made it clear that M.E. is ‘a serious, chronic, complex, and systemic disease that frequently and dramatically limits the activities of affected patients. In its most severe form, this disease can consume the lives of those whom it afflicts.’1
M.E. is associated with neurological, immunological and energy-metabolism impairment, and is characterised by significant disability and a widespread intolerance to even small amounts of
mental and physical exertion. Other symptoms include sleep dysfunction, dizziness, widespread pain, cognitive dysfunction, and sensitivity to light and sound. We know that:
* one in four people with M.E. are so severely affected that they are unable to leave their beds or homes, sometimes for many years, too ill to bear even the touch of a loved one
* M.E. has the lowest health-related quality-of-life score when compared to cancer, diabetes, lupus, stroke, heart disease and chronic renal failure2
* people with M.E. are at an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and suicide3
* in children and young people, the disease is the most common cause
of long-term school absence.4
Despite this suffering and disability, and the urgent need to find effective treatments, only 0.02% of international mainstream research funding has been directed towards M.E.5 Moreover, the condition is frequently undiagnosed, misdiagnosed and/or mistreated by physicians and often not recognised by national treatment and health insurance systems.
The International Alliance for M.E.’s awareness event on 12th May in Geneva, just one of thousands of Millions Missing6 events across the world, is part of our work to highlight the challenges faced by people with M.E.
We would greatly appreciate it if you could make time in your busy schedule to meet representatives from the International Alliance for M.E., a new collaboration uniting M.E. organisations in the US, Australia, Spain, Japan, South Africa and the UK. We would like to highlight the serious and significant impact of this often unrecognised condition, and explain why we are seeking urgent national and international action to increase research on the condition and ease the suffering of patients around the world.
We hope that, with the support of Members States and WHO, we will:
1. Recognise M.E. as a ‘serious, chronic, complex, and multisystem disease that frequently and dramatically limits the activities of affected patients’7 and adopt measures to provide a global and co-ordinated public health response to it.
2. Put in place transparency and a consultation process with M.E. organisations and patients on decisions related to M.E.
3. Support accelerated biomedical research to develop better diagnostic methods and treatments for M.E.
4. Ensure appropriate medical education for professionals working with M.E. patients.
As advocates, organisations, patients and carers, the International Alliance for M.E. is determined to see the condition properly recognised and treated, working with scientists and researchers across the world. We very much hope for your support for people living with M.E.
In the hope of your favorable reply to our invitation to meet,
Yours sincerely
The International Alliance for M.E.
ACAF – Associacio Catalana d’Afectades i Afectats de Fibromialgia i d’altres Sindromes de Sensibilitzacio Central, Spain
Action for M.E., United Kingdom
The American ME and CFS Society, United States
Emerge Australia, Australia
Forward ME, United Kingdom
Japan ME Association, Japan
ME CFS Foundation South Africa, South Africa
Plataforma Familiars Fm-SFC-SQM, Spain
Solve ME/CFS Initiative, United States
With support from
Association du Syndrome de Fatigue Chronique, France
Lost Voices Stiftung (Foundation), Germany
#MEAction, United Kingdom
ME/CFS Association Switzerland/Verein ME/CFS Schweiz, Switzerland
ME/FM Society of BC, Canada
ME Research UK, United Kingdom
Millions Missing Canada, Canada
Millions Missing France, France
National ME/FM Action Network, Canada
Open Medicine Foundation, United States
Welsh Association of ME & CFS Support (WAMES), United Kingdom
——–
1 Institute of Medicine (2015) Beyond M.E./CFS: redefining an illness
http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2015/ME-CFS.aspx
2 Hvidberg et al (2015) The Health-Related Quality of Life for
Patients with ME/CFS. PLoS ONE
3 Dimmock at al (2016) Estimating the disease burden of ME/CFS in the
United States and its relation to
research funding. Journal of Medicine and Therapeutics
4 Dowsett and Colby (1997) Long-term sickness absence due to ME/CFS in
UK schools; an epidemiological
study with medical and educational implications. Journal of Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome
5 Chowdhury and Radford (2016) M.E./CFS research funding
http://www.actionforme.org.uk/uploads/pdfs/mecfs-research-funding-report-2016.pdf
6 https://millionsmissing.meaction.net
7 Institute of Medicine (2015) Beyond M.E./CFS: redefining an illness
http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2015/ME-CFS.aspx
——–
(c) 2018 IAME
The putative role of oxidative stress and inflammation in the pathophysiology of sleep dysfunction across neuropsychiatric disorders: Focus on chronic fatigue syndrome, bipolar disorder and multiple sclerosis
Abstract:
Sleep and circadian abnormalities are prevalent and burdensome manifestations of diverse neuro-immune diseases, and may aggravate the course of several neuropsychiatric disorders. The underlying pathophysiology of sleep abnormalities across neuropsychiatric disorders remains unclear, and may involve the inter-play of several clinical variables and mechanistic pathways.
In this review, we propose a heuristic framework in which reciprocal interactions of immune, oxidative and nitrosative stress, and mitochondrial pathways may drive sleep abnormalities across potentially neuroprogressive disorders. Specifically, it is proposed that systemic inflammation may activate microglial cells and astrocytes in brain regions involved in sleep and circadian regulation. Activated glial cells may secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines (for example, interleukin-1 beta and tumour necrosis factor alpha), nitric oxide and gliotransmitters, which may influence the expression of key circadian regulators (e.g., the Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (CLOCK) gene). Furthermore, sleep disruption may further aggravate oxidative and nitrosative, peripheral immune activation, and (neuro) inflammation across these disorders in a vicious pathophysiological loop.
This review will focus on chronic fatigue syndrome, bipolar disorder, and multiple sclerosis as exemplars of neuro-immune disorders. We conclude that novel therapeutic targets exploring immune and oxidative & nitrosative pathways (p.e. melatonin and molecular hydrogen) hold promise in alleviating sleep and circadian dysfunction in these disorders.
Source: Morris G, Stubbs B, Köhler CA, Walder K, Slyepchenko A, Berk M, Carvalho AF. The putative role of oxidative stress and inflammation in the pathophysiology of sleep dysfunction across neuropsychiatric disorders: Focus on chronic fatigue syndrome, bipolar disorder and multiple sclerosis. Sleep Med Rev. 2018 Apr 4. pii: S1087-0792(17)30152-1. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2018.03.007. [Epub ahead of print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29759891
Markey Leads Resolution Recognizing ME/CFS
Press Release: Washington (May 15, 2018) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) was joined by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Angus S. King Jr. (I-Maine), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) in introducing a Senate resolution recognizing May 12 as International Awareness Day for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). ME/CFS is a chronic, debilitating condition without a known cause, diagnostic, treatment, or cure. It may affect up to 2.5 million Americans and is estimated to be four times more prevalent in women than in men. ME/CFS costs the economy up to $24 billion a year, due to medical expenses and loss of productivity.
“ME/CFS has been in the shadows for too long,” said Senator Markey. “Our resolution is just one step to help shine light on this condition and what we can collectively do to help improve the quality of life of those impacted. I am inspired by the commitment from individuals living with ME/CFS and their loved ones to change the trajectory of this disease, and am honored to help raise awareness of their efforts with Senators Van Hollen, King, and Collins with this resolution.”
Over the last several years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reorganized the Trans-NIH ME/CFS Working Group. Last year, the NIH awarded more than $7 million in grants to help establish Collaborative Research Centers and a Data Management Coordinating Center to enhance and coordinate research initiatives for ME/CFS throughout the NIH.
You can read the full resolution HERE.