USC News article on Myasthenia Gravis

[me/cfs 27931]

Patient visits inspire USC scientist’s lab work toward curing rare disease

The development of a crystal structure gives molecular biologist a clear view of how myasthenia gravis behaves

https://news.usc.edu/122847/patient...-work-toward-curing-rarely-diagnosed-disease/

As a molecular biologist, Kaori Noridomi gets an up-close view of the targets of her investigations. But when she began studying the molecular structures of the rarely diagnosed autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis, she decided to step out of the lab for a better view.

Noridomi decided she should meet patients who have it. She went so far as to attend a fundraising walk that supported research of the disease.

ME/CFS could use more researchers like this.

“Patients are just waiting for breakthroughs in research and better treatment,” said Noridomi, a researcher in Professor Lin Chen’s Molecular and Computational Biology Lab at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “They may also end up with other diseases because the disease attacks their immune system."

Reminiscent of ME/CFS.

An estimated 36,000 to 60,000 Americans — around 20 per every 100,000 — are affected by myasthenia gravis each year. At least, that’s the estimated number of patients who receive the diagnosis. The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America believes far more have the disease, but they are not diagnosed.

Sounds a lot like ME/CFS too. Except for the having a foundation part.

Chen, Noridomi and their team of researchers noted in the study that myasthenia gravis is “the first, and so far, only autoimmune disease with a well-defined autoantigen target,” alluding to the “nicotinic acetylcholine receptors” that the disease’s malfunctioning antibodies attack.

If ME/CFS is autoimmune, let's make it the second.

“It’s a little bit of disease and a little bit of heredity that cause this,” Noridomi said. “In some people, the level of symptoms may be so slight and varied that they may not even go to the trouble of finding out if they have a disease. By that, I mean, maybe they just don’t feel good one day, like they don’t feel like going to work. They don’t know that ultimately they are suffering an attack.”

A lot of mild ME/CFS are like this. I wonder if we are "a little bit of disease and a little bit of heredity" as well.

Noridomi said she believes the team’s findings will lead to greater scientific understanding and may give patients long-awaited hope.

“It has been very touching to hear their difficulties,” Noridomi said. “Since there is no good treatment right now, they are really waiting for more research to come.”

Yeah. We know this story.

The study was funded by two National Institutes of Health grants awarded to Chen. The Chen lab at USC Dornsife is funded by National Institute of Health grants R01GM064642 ($1.5 million for 2011-16) and R01AI113009 ($2.1 million for 2014-19).

Fundraising walks and NIH grants. Hook us up too, please!