I'm not sure if the hypo metabolic state explains the symptoms, maybe someone can tell me if they think it does or does not. Also, if it explains the brainstem abnormalities and the OI? If the hypometabolic state explains the sympoms, doesn't that completely reject the psychogenic conversion hypothesis?
Nonetheless, this is cool and good and we should fight harder against the NIH now that we have this new finding.
It explains
everything potentially..
Without energy our immune systems won't work.
Effectively using this model, the more sick you get from damage from uncontrolled ATP derived inflammation, the more immune suppressed you get, but over time and a new form of immune suppression develops., this will likely damage your brain neurons via uncontrolled oxidative injury.
Very interestingly, if your brain ATP is ruined, your brain won't work - so expect cognitive dysfunction, and neuropsych symptoms without a doubt (neuropsych symptoms are common in neurological diseases). Also expect visual defects as neurons won't communicate efficiently, and also expect seizures (seizures are common in Mito disorders as well).
i am proposing this unchecked process, over time, will 'age' your cells, tissues (brain) and bones prematurely - precisely what a year 1 CFS diagnosed patient won't report, and what a 20 years CFS diagnosed patient
does report. None of this will ever be detected if you focus on subjective FATIGUE in research. Hence we never got anywhere since 1988.
It would explain the huge variance in types of infection in CFS also (we never seem to share identical pathogens),but there must be a shared pathogen in their somewhere, driving the autoimmunity and we only all have that, due to the immune defect in the first place. The most obvious candidate after a HERV would be Lyme/Chlamydia pneumonia, or all 3 at once. Who knows at the moment, as we can't test ourselves yet.
Either way, from all this, subsets of disease damage (pathogens, autoimmunity, brain dysfunction) will be explained, and proven, once correct disease cohorts can be finally analysed, away from aforementioned FATIGUE only.
It is logical that it takes
time to damage the immune system and a presentation of CFS at year 1, is not in the same league as CFS in year 20 (in terms of immune defense, inflammation, development of autoimmunity) and that is why (probably) many with CFS have CFS first....then go into POTS.....into Arthritis......into Cancer....(and some) .into fatal presentation. It also explains why people who recover fully, tend to in the first year.
The inflammation in ME will likely be a causative reaction to mitochondrial dysfunction, without chronic inflammation you won't have this disease (in its severe form at least), period.
Finally, I imagine ME will be validated more rapidly now because
other diseases which have brain damage, have similar findings to ME (Organic CFS)- thus further validating it. e.g. an out of control CDR or feature that Ron Davis/Navieux found may well progress into Parkinson's, and never be diagnosed as CFS, but yet they share a similar link. This is all my speculation, but it seems plausible as we know for a fact Mitochondria in areas of Parkinson's patients brains aren't working correctly. The next question - what about our brains?!
Once a test is out, so many people will find out they have 'it', but in a presentation unique to them, which also fits in with findings in research and clinical practice.
Most of the above was observed by Dr Cheney ages ago, specifically that he observed there are phases in 'CFS', with the brain getting affected first, then the heart, and finally the immune system gives up,
With a future test, Dr Cheney and others can prove this observation as present or not, by testing CFS patients diagnosed for: 1, 5, 10, 15, 25, 40 years and then see who has what, and at what
stage of their illness. Then we're really talking as you can demonstrate that the disease has consequence by not being appropriately funded.
Then NIH/CDC/HSS will have to fund massively, as if not, you can prove the patient will develop incurable or highly debilitating co-morbidities.