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Intriguing biomedical research outlined in CAA newsletter (Winter 2013)

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
On autoantibodies, the potential set we could have is probably millions. Science mostly has the ones associated with specific disease. Looking for those in ME, as others have suggested, is problematic at best.

The potential targets also number in the millions, probably, when you into account epitopes and protein conformation.

Its like looking for a needle in a haystack while wearing thick leather gloves and a blindfold.

The Maes experiment a few years back went the other way. He subjected blood from ME patients to various specific probable targets (six?), and found way too many antibodies binding to them. This did not identify the antibodies, but if replicated and not fundamentally flawed it shows we probably have a nonspecific autoantibody problem with a very broad target range. This is fundamentally different from other autoimmune diseases we understand.

There is some question about what that means though. I think Maes is of the view this is because too many of our proteins are damaged by oxidative and nitrosative stress, and hence our immune system is free to attack them ... but these proteins are attached to our own cells.
 
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Bob

Senior Member
Messages
16,455
Location
England (south coast)
The CAA have published some useful details about the process of signing up to their biobank.
Patients and their healthy friends and family members from any country can sign up.
The security of personal information seems to be reasonably tight.
Contributors will be asked to submit specific information for each study as/when required.
When blood or saliva samples are required, a collection kit will be sent to participants.

"Anyone age 10 years and older can participate in the SolveCFS BioBank."

SolveCFS BioBank: Calling YOU to Participate in Gathering a Breadth & Depth of ME/CFS Data:
http://solvecfs.org/solvecfs-bioban...ng-a-breadth-depth-of-mecfs-data-part-4-of-4/

And there's further information here...

BioBank Eligibility:
http://solvecfs.org/solvecfs-biobank/eligibility/
 

lansbergen

Senior Member
Messages
2,512
This did not identify the antibodies, but if replicated and not fundamentally flawed it shows we probably have a nonspecific autoantibody problem with a very broad target range. This is fundamentally different from other autoimmune diseases we understand.

That is what I have been thinking. I guess it must be the B1 cells making lots of nonspecific antibodies and the specific phase of the adaptive immune response does not happen. B1 cells are supposed to be at the edge of the innate and the adoptive immune response.