Metabolic profiling of me/cfs cohort reveals disturbances in fatty acid & lipid metabolism

[Hip]

However, AMA are known to inhibit the PDH-E2 complex. (Wiki here.) To my understanding, this rhymes with Fluge & Mella's findings.

Very interesting. So in acute liver failure, there is actually an anti-mitochondrial autoantibody that specifically targets the pyruvate dehydrogenase E2 subunit (as detailed in this study, and in the Wikipedia article).

And the study suggests that xenobiotic-induced and/or oxidative modification of mitochondrial autoantigens is a critical step leading to loss of tolerance, and then autoimmunity.

 

[FMMM1]

Whoa, adding this to http://www.meaction.net/2016/12/23/...ort-for-disordered-metabolism-in-me-patients/ right quick

Thanks JaimeS for the link to the above review.

So Fluge & Mella, Armstrong, Yamano, Naviaux & Germain Hanson (apologies to those left out) are all highlighting an problem with mitochondrial functioning. People with ME/CFS can use proteins (and fats?) to create energy but the net effect is that they have much lower energy (and much else besides).

I've come up with a reference to "miR- 128b over-expression" but I don't know where I got that from (suggestions welcome); so for that reason (and others) what follows may not read correctly.

Diagnostic Test:
It is possible to diagnose ME/CFS using a blood test i.e. a Mass Spectrometry (MS) test (Yamano & Naviaux etc.); however, currently there is no diagnostic test available. The Government laboratories here in the United Kingdom currently get roughly £200 per MS test [statutory European Community food testing programs (Government laboratories - AFBI in Northern Ireland & FERA in the England)]. Problem is MS equipment is expensive and the test requires skilled people i.e. scaling up to test large numbers of people is difficult.

Are Fluge & Mella suggesting that a blood miR test can be used to diagnose ME/CFS? If so then we need a large scale study looking at miR levels in people with ME/CFS and controls; possibly including MS tests to establish whether the test group have the underlying biochemical abnormality. I haven't been able to find out the cost of a miR test but they appear to be based on readily available test kits and the test can be scaled up to test large numbers of people.

One advantage of a test is that people could be accurately diagnosed. In some cases people are receiving inappropriate treatments owing to inaccurate diagnosis; these treatments could then be stopped or modified.

What now:
Presumably potential drug targets have now been identified e.g. targeting miR over expression.

We need research to determine the underlying cause e.g. causing miR over expression and whether steps can be taken to treat this.

We need to think how to put pressure on our Governments to fund the development of a diagnostic test/service and research to identify the underlying cause.