I've been reading a lot since I've been sick and this makes the most sense to me. I don't want it to be true since it's very scary, but it seems to be the simplest explanation (Occam's razor).
I wouldn't make such a claim without well reasoned points so bare with me. And please show me why I'm wrong because I really don't want this to be true.
By the way I'm talking about just post infectious cases not others that get lumped in because they have similar symptoms.
- It seems like there are several of the same viruses involved that attack the brain (herpes, enteroviruses) that cause ME and other more recognized encephalitis cases
- Rest is important to recovery early on because the brain needs rest to heal before the stem cells die. I think this is true in stroke and concussion
- Most adults don't fully recover after a couple years because adult brains don't heal after a certain amount of time. This is not seen in children and they seem to recover more often
- Damage to a specific part of the brain (middle and brain stem) would explain all the numerous symptoms and systems affected including the hormone, immune, and metabolic abnormalities
- Infections, inflammation, and autoimmunity can be involved and improving those issues can cause varying levels of symptom improvement. But they are almost never completely curative due to the permanent brain damage
- People can get permanently worse when they exert because they put more strain on already overtaxed braincells causing them to give out like in post polio. Or they get worse after a new virus because the virus goes to the brain and does more damage.
- The ME brain research from Stanford and Japan showing big brain problems
If all this is true, then maybe the only possible future total cure stem cells or genetic modification.
That's scary because maybe all these researches are not looking in the right place by looking at all the "down river" effects of brain damage or the viruses that cause the damage.
Just my rambling thoughts. Hopefully the many people on here smarter than me can tell me why I'm wrong!
- Sarah