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NIH awards 'supplemental grants' to Lipkin, Katz, Fletcher, other big names

Simon

Senior Member
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Location
Monmouth, UK
Update via email from Marian Emr, Communications Director, NINDS

The NIH has awarded seven administrative [mecfs] supplement grants in response to a Notice of Availability that was issued in April 2016. Awarded supplements will enable NIH-funded projects to expand the collection and analysis of biospecimens from individuals with ME/CFS to aid in biomarker identification and help identify potential therapeutic targets.

Also note
The Trans-NIH ME/CFS Working Group will be hosting a telebriefing on Wednesday, November 2, 2016 from 3:00-4:00pm EDT. The purpose of this call will be to offer updates on NIH’s recent activities related to ME/CFS and provide an opportunity for the community to ask questions. Call-in details will be available shortly.

Unfortunately it's not clear how much was awarded, or exactly what for (descriptions may be for the original study, not just the 'supplemental' bit, but here are the details
" More details about the awarded supplements are available at https://www.nih.gov/mecfs/funding under “Funded Projects.” "

NOVA Southeastern University
  • Lubov Nathanson, gene expression in response to exercise
Recent findings suggest that genetic activity influencing the immune system and inflammatory responses may affect the course of ME/CFS. Dr. Nathanson and her team will collect blood samples from individuals with ME/CFS and healthy individuals before, during, and after an exercise challenge. Dr. Nathanson’s team will use innovative technology to comprehensively assess what is happening in the genes of individuals with ME/CFS. The findings of these genetic analyses may help provide new insight into disease onset and progression as well as help identify potential therapeutic targets.


  • Mary A. Fletcher,
    Gender differences in responset to exercise
Looks like this will collect new samples from men, to compare with ones already collected for women
Evidence suggests that ME/CFS may affect women to a greater degree than men, but the reasons for the difference are unknown. To investigate the role of gender in this disease, Dr. Fletcher and her colleagues will collect biological samples from adult males with ME/CFS undergoing an exercise challenge, and compare those results with previously collected data from adult females with ME/CFS. Dr. Fletcher and her group will look for differences in immune cell activation, hormones, cellular markers, and genetic activity to help identify potential therapies and improve our understanding of disease mechanisms.



  • Louis Nacul, London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine, A longitudinal immunological and virological study for ME CFS biomarker discovery
This looks like new funding to allow collection of samples from patients at additional timepoints for the UK mecfs biobank
Studies suggest that one cause of ME/CFS may be abnormal changes in the immune system, thought to be associated with a viral infection. Dr. Nacul and his team will continue to collect additional blood samples, at various timepoints, from individuals with ME/CFS or multiple sclerosis, as well as from healthy individuals. Dr. Nacul will compare immune cell activity, genetic patterns and viral markers among the three groups to identify potential biomarkers of ME/CFS. In addition, the samples will continue to be stored in a biobank for use by researchers around the world.



  • Ben Katz/Lenny Jason, A prospective study of CFS following infectious mononucleosis in college students
I've no idea what the new element of this is
A number of ME/CFS cases in young adults have been linked to infection with mononucleosis and to further examine this association, Drs. Katz and Jason will conduct a larger prospective study of college students, using data from university-based health services. Drs. Katz and Jason will compare data of individuals who fell ill with mononucleosis and then did or did not develop ME/CFS. This analysis may help identify risk factors that predict which individuals will develop ME/CFS and may also provide clues about the underlying causes of the disease.



Diagnosing ME/CFS can be challenging due to lack of biomarkers, which are genetic or cellular molecules that can be used to identify specific diseases, measure disease progression, and track response to treatment. Drs. Campagne and Hanson will continue to collect blood samples from individuals with ME/CFS as well as healthy individuals and use state-of-the-art technology to look for changes in the activity of genes that are involved in the immune system. These results may help identify novel biomarkers, new pathways related to ME/CFS, as well as potential avenues for therapy.


  • Mark Davis, Stanford. Adaptive and innate immunity, memory and repertoire in vaccination and infection
This looks to me like it might be funding for part of the OMF severely-affected study, as that too looks at T-cell receptors in detail, but maybe it's looking at a new aspect of T cell receptors.
Recent studies have shown that increased levels of activated CD8+ T cells are present in blood samples from individuals with ME/CFS. These cells are part of the immune system and typically become triggered following an infection. Dr. Davis and his group are using newly developed technologies to get a detailed look at the structure and function of T cell receptors in individuals with ME/CFS, which may provide clues about the immune system’s response to disease and may identify possible biomarkers.


  • Ian Lipkin, Columbia, Center for Research in Diagnostics and Discovery
Multiple findings over the past several years suggest a viral or post-infective connection to ME/CFS. Dr. Lipkin and his colleagues will develop a cutting-edge library containing protein fragments of all known viruses that infect vertebrates, including mammals. Dr. Lipkin’s team will use the protein library to assess blood samples from individuals with ME/CFS and healthy individuals, to identify potential viruses the individuals with ME/CFS have been exposed to and correlate to symptoms of ME/CFS. The results may help advance detection of novel pathogens involved in ME/CFS.
 
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Messages
2,087
This looks to me like it might be funding for part of the OMF severely-affected study, as that too looks at T-cell receptors in detail, but maybe it's looking at a new aspect of T cell receptors.
Its great to see Mark Davis get involved - definitely a result of Ron Davis' work.

Ian Lipkins work sounds fascinating, do we know what the status of that research is ?

ETA Any speculation as to what the telebriefing might be about - will we learn anything new ?
 

Thomas

Senior Member
Messages
325
Location
Canada
  • Mark Davis, Stanford. Adaptive and innate immunity, memory and repertoire in vaccination and infection
This will be really interesting to me -- seeing as a flu shot triggered my ME. I wonder if various types of triggers require different types of treatment. Navieux's recent paper suggested no. However, I'm unaware if Fluge and Mellas recent lecture in Norway that was posted here elsewhere feel that different triggers require different treatments.
 

Tuha

Senior Member
Messages
638
I dont know but can additional 100 000 USD to each study help the researchers to move their studies significantly? I dont have this impression. Research is very expensive. Maybe they can make few more additional tests or add some more patients but nothing significant. It´s certainly a small step forward but we need much more to move faster.
 

RogerBlack

Senior Member
Messages
902
I dont know but can additional 100 000 USD to each study help the researchers to move their studies significantly? I dont have this impression. Research is very expensive. Maybe they can make few more additional tests or add some more patients but nothing significant. It´s certainly a small step forward but we need much more to move faster.

'no' - but maybe.
Often a fairly modest increase in patients sampled can dramatically improve the statistical power of a study. As can adding subgroups - for example a FM/normal trial - adding a CFS arm to it, may not add much cost in some cases, but can get lots more useful data out.
 

Simon

Senior Member
Messages
3,789
Location
Monmouth, UK
Helpful summary and extra info from Cort ($100k per supplemental grant, appaarently), Marueen Hanson is in there too

Taking Stock: the NIH and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) - Health Rising

Supplemental Funding Program Is Working A couple of months ago the NIH added

A couple of months ago the NIH added supplemental funding of about $100,000 each for chronic fatigue syndrome projects already underway. The good news is that major Institutes such as NINDS (nervous system) and NIAID (immune) supported it. The bad news is that major institutes such as NIAMS (rheumatology), NHLBI (heart/lung), NIDDK (diabetes) and others didn’t. Of the fifteen Institutes in the Working Group five participated.

The NIAMS drop out meant that money wasn’t available to add ME/CFS cohorts to some FM studies. If this small project was a litmus test for Institute support it didn’t go so well.

With seven studies receiving approximately an extra $100,000 in funds each, the supplemental funding program, however, appears to be something of a success.The funding will help:

  • Dr. Fletcher and Dr. Nathanson at NSU will determine if men with ME/CFS respond differently to exercise than women and will explore the interaction between genetics and exercise. (It appears that the extra money allowed Dr. Fletcher to add men to a formerly all female exercise study.)
  • Dr. Nacul in London will use the extra money to help him compare immune, viral and genetic markers over time in ME/CFS and MS.
  • Dr. Katz and Lenny Jason will try to determine why some college students with mononucleosis are prone to develop ME/CFS.
  • Drs. Campagne and Maureen Hanson of Cornell will look for changes in the gene expression of immune cells
  • Stanford’s big immune researchers, Dr. Mark Davis will use new technologies to take a closer look at T-cells than has ever been done before
  • Dr. Ian Lipkin of Columbia will determine what pathogens ME/CFS patients have been exposed to in the past.
 

aimossy

Senior Member
Messages
1,106
I'm contributing a deflated yay about this to be honest. Universities usually also take a reasonable percentage cut off from any grants too. So that means the direct amount received is lower.
 
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Jenny TipsforME

Senior Member
Messages
1,184
Location
Bristol
This is good news.

Slightly random thought occurred to me while reading: in terms of gender difference has anyone looked at whether it is the same proportional difference at onset? I'm wondering if the metabolic gender differences Naviaux picked up might mean more men recover? Seeing as ME just goes on and on for years this could easily make it look like 4x as many women get it, rather than that fewer women recover. Just a random question.
 

boohealth

Senior Member
Messages
243
Location
south
This will be really interesting to me -- seeing as a flu shot triggered my ME. I wonder if various types of triggers require different types of treatment. Navieux's recent paper suggested no. However, I'm unaware if Fluge and Mellas recent lecture in Norway that was posted here elsewhere feel that different triggers require different treatments.

Re:vaccinations I believe they need to look at the presence/type of adjuvant. In healthy gulf war vets (under Bush 1), adjuvants were used because there was not enough vaccine to go around. And a portion got permanently ill. There was a whole, well researched book about it.

The adjuvants stimulate a stronger immune response, but I think the combo of vaccine and adjuvant may throw some immune systems into overdrive and autoimmunity or hypersensitivity to either that vaccine sequence and/or generally.,
 

Gemini

Senior Member
Messages
1,176
Location
East Coast USA
Update via email from Marian Emr, Communications Director, NINDS

The Trans-NIH ME/CFS Working Group will be hosting a telebriefing on Wednesday, November 2, 2016 from 3:00-4:00pm EDT. The purpose of this call will be to offer updates on NIH’s recent activities related to ME/CFS and provide an opportunity for the community to ask questions. Call-in details will be available shortly.

@Simon, by any chance do you know the Call-in details for this Nov 2nd telebriefing?
 
Messages
85
I know I have no brains but the dates on this seem a bit odd It's 02-11-2016 today isn't it? The heading above says 12-11-2016 and some of posts 13-11-2016. Or did I sleep through a whole 10 days?

Edit -
I'm a fool. What am I? It's November (11) not October (10) . . . or something.
As you were.
 
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Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
I know I have no brains but the dates on this seem a bit odd It's 02-11-2016 today isn't it? The heading above says 12-11-2016 and some of posts 13-11-2016. Or did I sleep through a whole 10 days?

Edit -
I'm a fool. What am I? It's November (11) not October (10) . . . or something.
As you were.
Yes - it's today. It's supposed to be starting I half an hour but, I have not seen any call in details.
Anyone know more?
 

Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
Someone just gave me the following info they received in an email:

Due to interest in tomorrow’s call, we have set up a new conference line. If you will be calling from the U.S., please use the following dial-in information for the telebriefing.



Dial-in: 866-844-9416

Participant passcode: 8048800
 

Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
Dr. Koroshetz is briefly describing what NIH does. mission id to- seek knowledge of living systems and diseases and enhance health and life and reduce disability This is what NIH is trying to do for ME/CFS.

NIH is made up of 27 institutes and centers. they receive their budget from congress.

Most funds got out to outside investigators via grants. Some investigations are in house - intramural.