Hi, all.
With regard to low sed rate in ME/CFS, this originated with David Berg, who used to be the proprietor of Hemex Labs in Phoenix, AZ. (He sold out to Esoterix, which became part of LabCorp, and they still offer his tests in Phoenix.) Mr. Berg specialized in blood coagulation. He developed the concept of ISAC (Immune System Activation of Coagulation). He found that quite a few CFS patients had lab results that he associated with ISAC. The abstracts of two of his papers are below.
As I recall, he did not include this in his papers, but in his talks he mentioned that a sed rate below 4 or 5 millimeters per hour is suggestive of ISAC, and he recommended running the ISAC panel in patients who had sed rates this low.
There was a lot of discussion of this in the CFSFMExperimental group at the time (around 10 or 12 years ago, as I recall). Some PWCs had low sed rates, and some did not.
For those who had ISAC, Mr. Berg recommended treatment with low-dose heparin, together with an antiviral to prevent overgrowth of viruses when the fibrin deposits were removed from the capillaries. Other people were trying things like nattokinase, serrepeptidase, or lumbrokinase, together with a transfer factor to suppress the viruses, and some people reported benefit from this.
Best regards,
Rich
Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis. 1999 Oct;10(7):435-8.
Chronic fatigue syndrome and/or fibromyalgia as a variation of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome: an explanatory model and approach to laboratory diagnosis.
Berg D,
Berg LH,
Couvaras J,
Harrison H.
Source
HEMEX Laboratories, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona 85021, USA.
Abstract
Chronic Fatigue and/or Fibromyalgia have long been diseases without definition. An explanatory model of coagulation activation has been demonstrated through use of the ISAC panel of five tests, including, Fibrinogen, Prothrombin Fragment 1+2, Thrombin/ AntiThrombin Complexes, Soluble Fibrin Monomer, and Platelet Activation by flow cytometry. These tests show low level coagulation activation from immunoglobulins (Igs) as demonstrated by Anti-B2GPI antibodies, which allows classification of these diseases as a type of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. The ISAC panel allows testing for diagnosis as well as monitoring for anticoagulation protocols in these patients.
PMID: 10695770
Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis. 2000 Oct;11(7):673-8.
Activation of the coagulation system in Gulf War Illness: a potential pathophysiologic link with chronic fatigue syndrome. A laboratory approach to diagnosis.
Hannan KL,
Berg DE,
Baumzweiger W,
Harrison HH,
Berg LH,
Ramirez R,
Nichols D.
Source
Osceola Hospital, Kissimmee, Orlando, Florida, USA.
Abstract
Most symptoms of Gulf War Illness (GWI) are similar to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and/or Fibromyalgia (FM). We investigated whether these symptoms are associated with an activated coagulation system as has been reported in some cases of CFS/FM. The coagulation assays include activation markers of the cascade, platelet activation and hereditary risk factors. Our findings show activation of the coagulation system in GWI. This evidence of a hypercoagulable state suggests that symptoms may be due to poor blood flow and, therefore, a basis for the potential utility of anticoagulant therapy.
PMID: 11085289