I know this is a CFS/ME board, but this is interesting considering a lot of CFS patients have autonomic problems. Some of you may be able to make more sense of this than myself.
The findings:
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/90183
Easy to understand version:
Australian researchers have an exciting new study out on epigenetic findings in POTS. It's very complicated, but here's a plain English version of their findings. NET is a gene that makes the norepinephrine transporter (NET) protein. This protein helps our autonomic nerves recycle norepineprhine, a substance that nerves use to send messages to each other. When there aren't enough NET proteins made, less norepineprhine is recycled, and more of it is spilled over into the bloodstream. This increases the overall tone of the sympathetic nervous system, which can lead to POTS like symptoms or can worsen them.
The Australian researchers found that the NET gene is being "silenced" (not making enough NET protein) in some POTS patients. The study included 9 POTS patients.
The researchers believe this "silencing" is happening because of a complex epigenetic mechanism. Epigenetic refers to factors that regulate gene expression without an alternation in the gene itself.
The researchers took white blood cells from POTS patients, which had reduced NET protein, and treated the cells with vorinostat, a medication known to reverse the epigenetic mechanism that was found. When the white blood cells from POTS patients were treated with vorinostat, the NET protein level increased, suggesting that the epigenetic mechanism is treatable!
Please don't rush out and try to get yourself a dose of vorinostat. It's a serious drug used to treat lymphoma that can cause some pretty bad side effects, and we don't yet know how it would work in POTS patients, if at all. There may be other drugs or non-pharmacological treatments that can reverse the epigenetic mechanism too.
We have hope that this will lead to more research, and perhaps new treatment options for a subset or all POTS patients someday.
Speaking of more research... if you've read this far down, we'd like to fill you in on a secret. We're planning an NET epigenetic study for the 2017 annual conference with researchers at three major autonomic labs, because we need NET epigenetic data on a larger group of patients. Details to be posted soon! #ResearchMeansHope
The findings:
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/90183
Easy to understand version:
Australian researchers have an exciting new study out on epigenetic findings in POTS. It's very complicated, but here's a plain English version of their findings. NET is a gene that makes the norepinephrine transporter (NET) protein. This protein helps our autonomic nerves recycle norepineprhine, a substance that nerves use to send messages to each other. When there aren't enough NET proteins made, less norepineprhine is recycled, and more of it is spilled over into the bloodstream. This increases the overall tone of the sympathetic nervous system, which can lead to POTS like symptoms or can worsen them.
The Australian researchers found that the NET gene is being "silenced" (not making enough NET protein) in some POTS patients. The study included 9 POTS patients.
The researchers believe this "silencing" is happening because of a complex epigenetic mechanism. Epigenetic refers to factors that regulate gene expression without an alternation in the gene itself.
The researchers took white blood cells from POTS patients, which had reduced NET protein, and treated the cells with vorinostat, a medication known to reverse the epigenetic mechanism that was found. When the white blood cells from POTS patients were treated with vorinostat, the NET protein level increased, suggesting that the epigenetic mechanism is treatable!
Please don't rush out and try to get yourself a dose of vorinostat. It's a serious drug used to treat lymphoma that can cause some pretty bad side effects, and we don't yet know how it would work in POTS patients, if at all. There may be other drugs or non-pharmacological treatments that can reverse the epigenetic mechanism too.
We have hope that this will lead to more research, and perhaps new treatment options for a subset or all POTS patients someday.
Speaking of more research... if you've read this far down, we'd like to fill you in on a secret. We're planning an NET epigenetic study for the 2017 annual conference with researchers at three major autonomic labs, because we need NET epigenetic data on a larger group of patients. Details to be posted soon! #ResearchMeansHope