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http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/he...story/055d7aa1a1bc0ae1c0ea76029d1e8b2a#.ig02r
SAHMRI researchers in hunt to find cure for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
WORLD-first research in Adelaide that involves taking the blood samples of donors every seven minutes aims to unlock the mystery of a debilitating illness that has no cure or treatment.
Rebecca Baker
The AdvertiserNovember 2, 20179:58am
WORLD-first research in Adelaide that involves taking the blood samples of donors every seven minutes aims to unlock the mystery of a debilitating illness that has no cure or treatment.
Thousands of samples taken for the study are now being stored in a freezer to allow each one to be sructinised during a painstaking process, expected to take about a year.
Senior research fellow Michael Musker said the work being done at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute to try and understand Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) had “world-wide significance”.
Dr Musker says because the cause of CFS — or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) — isn’t known, there isn’t a cure or any officially approved medical treatments.
“If we can establish what it is and how it affects the body, we may be able to find a solution,” he said.
“The work we’re now doing hasn’t been done anywhere else and involves taking blood samples from 30 people with CFS (as well as 15 who don’t) every seven minutes, over an eight-hour period to look for inflammatory markers, and hopefully find some answers.
“We believe that we can make a major contribution to a participant’s quality of life by finding the biological basis of their clinical symptoms ... (then) we may be able to target treatments.”
CFS affects tens of thousands of Australians each year and is described as being like running a marathon while having a severe case of glandular fever, on top of the flu. The symptoms can last for several years.
“If you try think of a day when you’ve felt totally exhausted – more so than even before – and then try to imagine being stuck in that mode every day for at least six months, you’ll have some idea of what it is like to have CFS,” Dr Musker said.
“We believe that we can make a major contribution to a participant’s quality of life by finding the biological basis of their clinical symptoms ... (then) we may be able to target treatments.”
He says the illness is commonly misunderstood and as a result can have a huge psychological impact on people, who can become isolated from friends and family.
“There is no test for the illness and it can be difficult to get a diagnosis — patients as well as doctors can become frustrated as they can’t find an explanation for the symptoms,” Dr Musker said.
One person who knows this first hand is Penelope McMillan, president of the SA branch of ME/CFS Australia, who has given her blood for the study.
“People experience ME/CFS in varying degrees of severity ... those most profoundly affected survive in a darkened, silent room, unable to leave their bed and experiencing a wide range of painful and disturbing symptoms,” she said.
“(This illness) destroys careers, tears families apart, shortens lives and holds people hostage to a painful chronic illness that has no recognised treatment and few knowledgeable doctors.
“I have no expectation of an imminent ‘cure’ but great hopes that current research will point the way to reducing the symptoms and allowing those of us in the ME community to increase the scope of our daily lives.”
SAHMRI researchers in hunt to find cure for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
WORLD-first research in Adelaide that involves taking the blood samples of donors every seven minutes aims to unlock the mystery of a debilitating illness that has no cure or treatment.
Rebecca Baker
The AdvertiserNovember 2, 20179:58am
WORLD-first research in Adelaide that involves taking the blood samples of donors every seven minutes aims to unlock the mystery of a debilitating illness that has no cure or treatment.
Thousands of samples taken for the study are now being stored in a freezer to allow each one to be sructinised during a painstaking process, expected to take about a year.
Senior research fellow Michael Musker said the work being done at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute to try and understand Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) had “world-wide significance”.
Dr Musker says because the cause of CFS — or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) — isn’t known, there isn’t a cure or any officially approved medical treatments.
“If we can establish what it is and how it affects the body, we may be able to find a solution,” he said.
“The work we’re now doing hasn’t been done anywhere else and involves taking blood samples from 30 people with CFS (as well as 15 who don’t) every seven minutes, over an eight-hour period to look for inflammatory markers, and hopefully find some answers.
“We believe that we can make a major contribution to a participant’s quality of life by finding the biological basis of their clinical symptoms ... (then) we may be able to target treatments.”
CFS affects tens of thousands of Australians each year and is described as being like running a marathon while having a severe case of glandular fever, on top of the flu. The symptoms can last for several years.
“If you try think of a day when you’ve felt totally exhausted – more so than even before – and then try to imagine being stuck in that mode every day for at least six months, you’ll have some idea of what it is like to have CFS,” Dr Musker said.
“We believe that we can make a major contribution to a participant’s quality of life by finding the biological basis of their clinical symptoms ... (then) we may be able to target treatments.”
He says the illness is commonly misunderstood and as a result can have a huge psychological impact on people, who can become isolated from friends and family.
“There is no test for the illness and it can be difficult to get a diagnosis — patients as well as doctors can become frustrated as they can’t find an explanation for the symptoms,” Dr Musker said.
One person who knows this first hand is Penelope McMillan, president of the SA branch of ME/CFS Australia, who has given her blood for the study.
“People experience ME/CFS in varying degrees of severity ... those most profoundly affected survive in a darkened, silent room, unable to leave their bed and experiencing a wide range of painful and disturbing symptoms,” she said.
“(This illness) destroys careers, tears families apart, shortens lives and holds people hostage to a painful chronic illness that has no recognised treatment and few knowledgeable doctors.
“I have no expectation of an imminent ‘cure’ but great hopes that current research will point the way to reducing the symptoms and allowing those of us in the ME community to increase the scope of our daily lives.”
