Am so happy that bright minds are engaged in biomedical research (though I, naturally, remain cautious about shouting anything concrete from the rooftops). This is interesting, latest from Kenny de Meirleir and Vincent Lombardi. I am sure there is autommunity implicated in my own illness, since I developed uveitis a few years ago, which I hate even typing, I try to banish it, was so disruptive and frightening.
I wish the 'ME-CFS' clinic in my last post would include this little snippet in their GP/patient leaflets, instead of indulging their fantasies:
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a
debilitating disorder
characterized by multi-systemic
neuropathology, gastrointestinal
(GI) dysfunction, inflammation, and
innate
immune dysregulation (1).
Immunological symptoms often
include viral reactivation, cytokine
and chemokine
irregularities, and decreased natural
killer (NK) cell function
(2-7). Additionally, reports of
individuals with MEexpressing
autoantibodies (8, 9), and the
successful treatment
of ME with the B-cell-depleting drug
rituximab (10, 11),
suggest that a subset of these
individuals may suffer from an
uncharacterized antibody-mediated
autoimmunity.
Little is known regarding the
pathophysiology of ME;
therefore, diseases with similar or
overlapping symptoms
often serve as useful guides when
exploring new
experimental concepts. For instance,
autoimmune diseases
such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and
systemic lupus
erythematosus (SLE) have many
symptoms that overlap with
those of ME. Neurological
manifestations often associated
with ME (12), are analogous to the
neuroinflammation and
cognitive abnormalities associated
with MS and SLE (13,
14). Additionally, GI aberrations,
which are common to
individuals with MS and SLE (15-17),
are among the most
frequent symptoms reported by those
with ME (18, 19).
The whole de Meirleir research paper is here.
2 comments:
Interesting. After a year of what felt like getting ME all over again (even though I already had ME), and then been sent for test after test after developing new and atypical symptoms, I have just tested positive for ANA antibodies. Whether this is significant or not remains to be seen. The neurologist I was referred to has now written to my GP suggesting a referral to another specialist for investigations into auto immune disorders. So...we'll see...
Sorry you have had such bad relapse, Dig. I would not be in the least surprised if autoimmunity is found to be complicit in development of ME. The researchers will get there, with time and funding! This is what makes it utterly indefensible that so much money has been wasted on mumbojumbo aka PACE.
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