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New immune disease?

Enid

Senior Member
Messages
3,309
Location
UK
Interesting thanks Tito - not the same but I do recall losing a stone in weight and having polio and chicken pox like symptons in my early days - so definite Immune problems. (though latent viruses being expressed).
 

Daffodil

Senior Member
Messages
5,875
So odd....and scary. I thought this would be the same as CFS but it isn't.

i had no idea that there were these many unknown pathogens in the world until i got sick. its like we are perpetually on the edge of a huge health disaster. i didnt know!

they really keep the public pretty much in the dark about this sort of thing.
 

acer2000

Senior Member
Messages
818
Here is another article about it:

http://arstechnica.com/science/2012...ncy-caused-ironically-by-autoimmune-response/

It appears that these people have developed antibodies against interferon gamma, thus blunting its effect in signaling and allowing certain types infections to flourish unchecked by the part of the immune system that uses this interferon to keep them in check. I guess they don't yet know whats causing the antibodies to INF-g to form. Pretty fascinating.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1111160 (actual article)
 

Whit

Senior Member
Messages
399
Location
Bay Area
Because they found something? No one has found antibodies like that in CFS patients. And I haven't even had a cold in 4 years much less any other kind of infection. So either part of my immune system is working in overdrive, or I get colds, but my body is already reacting in that way, so I don't get (additional) symptoms from colds. Or something along those lines, either way there is some connection between CFS and not getting sick for me. I know many others are in this same camp, and others get sick all the time.
 
Messages
80
Whit,
I am the same, not one cold or infection since I had mono and the resulting CFS five years ago. Everyone else in the house can be sick except me!! Now I may have had the flu a few times--I wouldn't really know since it feels like I have the flu every night!
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
Because they found something? No one has found antibodies like that in CFS patients. And I haven't even had a cold in 4 years much less any other kind of infection. So either part of my immune system is working in overdrive, or I get colds, but my body is already reacting in that way, so I don't get (additional) symptoms from colds. Or something along those lines, either way there is some connection between CFS and not getting sick for me. I know many others are in this same camp, and others get sick all the time.

We definitely have a group among us with immune deficiencies, especially NK cell dysfunction. Has anyone done a study comparing patients with immune dysfunction with those that never catch anything? Isn't this likely to be two significant subsets? Or am I missing something?
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
I'm not sure if anyone has looked for these antibodies in CFS patients. Anyone?

No idea.. but that interferon gamma thing has been studied in CFS http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9466535
CD4 T lymphocytes from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have decreased interferon-gamma production and increased sensitivity to dexamethasone

CFS at one point back 10 years ago.. was being called by quite a few non-AIDS AIDS. (or something along those lines).

A study of a group of very sick ME/CFS patients to see just how many of those who are being diagnosed with CFS have those antibodies.. would be interesting.
 

Whit

Senior Member
Messages
399
Location
Bay Area
Maybe but I dont think anyone really knows if the immune system is weak or overreacting. A solid case can be made for either one. I fit pretty well in the classic CFS defnition. Andy Kogelnik is my doctor and I have low NK cell function and high viral tiders to all the usual viruses. I also have PEM. Had Mono. etc...

I used to get 1-2 colds per year, every single year, and would get sick when a family member got sick. And my cold symptoms were always predictable. I haven't had a cold since the onset of my serious CFS symptoms 5 years ago.

Seems unlikely that this new disease is what I have.
 

Chris

Senior Member
Messages
845
Location
Victoria, BC
Hi, I am one who has only had one cold since getting ME about 6 years ago. But I thought one of our problems was that we got infected by viruses, but our immune systems failed to mount a proper response, so the bugs take up residence without our showing the symptoms that are largely triggered by the battle the immune system should put up?
Best, Chris
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
We definitely have a group among us with immune deficiencies, especially NK cell dysfunction. Has anyone done a study comparing patients with immune dysfunction with those that never catch anything? Isn't this likely to be two significant subsets? Or am I missing something?

Im one of those who never caught colds/flus.. but strangely that was before I got ME/CFS (so I think I already was in a TH2 dominant state with my immune system all my childhood, before i got this illness.. possibly its what made me susceptable to it).

Nowdays thou.. I do catch colds etc at times (thou not often) My theory is that after a time this predominance.. due to us being soo sick.. maybe it then can get to the point (due to our healths being so bad and overrun with things picked up due to being one sided), where possbily our whole system and both sides of the immune system end up going down some, rather then just being weak on one side of it and strong on the other side.
 

justinreilly

Senior Member
Messages
2,498
Location
NYC (& RI)
But how do we know this is not CFS? sounds similar to me to things I hear here.
I think I remember from the thread Willow linked to that he (hanchuchu) and others with the disease were wasting, ie getting very thin like the woman in the article. That doesn't happen to us.
 

justinreilly

Senior Member
Messages
2,498
Location
NYC (& RI)
So odd....and scary. I thought this would be the same as CFS but it isn't.

i had no idea that there were these many unknown pathogens in the world until i got sick. its like we are perpetually on the edge of a huge health disaster. i didnt know!

they really keep the public pretty much in the dark about this sort of thing.
Hanchuchu and others were saying in the thread that they have been trying to get the Chinese authorities and others to help out and media to report, but nothing was done. It even says in the article that the cases have been appearing since 2004 and the public health agencies don't bother telling anyone and the media ignores it.

I wouldn't be so quick to conclude it isn't communicable. Hanchuchu thought it was. He was saying there were reports of getting it after going to prostitutes and family members WERE getting sick.