:New paper 10th Nov: Brain chemistry study shows CFS and GWI as unique disorders

[Countrygirl]

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/gumc-bcs110817.php

PUBLIC RELEASE: 10-NOV-2017
Brain chemistry study shows chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War illness as unique disorders


GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

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WASHINGTON -- Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have found distinct molecular signatures in two brain disorders long thought to be psychological in origin -- chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and Gulf War Illness (GWI).

In addition, the work supports a previous observation by GUMC investigators of two variants of GWI. The disorders share commonalities, such as pain, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and exhaustion after exercise.

Their study, published in Scientific Reports, lays groundwork needed to understand these disorders in order to diagnosis and treat them effectively, says senior investigator, James N. Baraniuk, MD, professor of medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Narayan Shivapurkar, PhD, assistant professor of oncology at the medical school worked with Baraniuk on the research.

The changes in brain chemistry -- observed in levels of miRNAs that turn protein production on or off -- were seen 24 hours after riding a stationary bike for 25 minutes.

"We clearly see three different patterns in the brain's production of these molecules in the CFS group and the two GWI phenotypes," says Baraniuk. "This news will be well received by patients who suffer from these disorders who are misdiagnosed and instead may be treated for depression or other mental disorders."

 

[Countrygirl]

Here is the link to the full paper:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-15383-9

Exercise – induced changes in cerebrospinal fluid miRNAs in Gulf War Illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and sedentary control subjects

Exercise – induced changes in cerebrospinal fluid miRNAs in Gulf War Illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and sedentary control subjects

• James N. Baraniuk &
• Narayan Shivapurkar

• Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 15338(2017)
• doi:10.1038/s41598-017-15383-9
• Download Citation
• • Biomarkers
  • Fatigue

Received:
07 February 2017
Accepted:
11 October 2017
Published online:
10 November 2017
Abstract
Gulf War Illness (GWI) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) have similar profiles of pain, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and exertional exhaustion. Post-exertional malaise suggests exercise alters central nervous system functions. Lumbar punctures were performed in GWI, CFS and control subjects after (i) overnight rest (nonexercise) or (ii) submaximal bicycle exercise. Exercise induced postural tachycardia in one third of GWI subjects (Stress Test Activated Reversible Tachycardia, START). The remainder were Stress Test Originated Phantom Perception (STOPP) subjects. MicroRNAs (miRNA) in cerebrospinal fluid were amplified by quantitative PCR. Levels were equivalent between nonexercise GWI (n = 22), CFS (n = 43) and control (n = 22) groups. After exercise, START (n = 22) had significantly lower miR-22-3p than control (n = 15) and STOPP (n = 42), but higher miR-9-3p than STOPP. All post-exercise groups had significantly reduced miR-328 and miR-608 compared to nonexercise groups; these may be markers of exercise effects on the brain. Six miRNAs were significantly elevated and 12 diminished in post-exercise START, STOPP and control compared to nonexercise groups. CFS had 12 diminished miRNAs after exercise. Despite symptom overlap of CFS, GWI and other illnesses in their differential diagnosis, exercise-induced miRNA patterns in cerebrospinal fluid indicated distinct mechanisms for post-exertional malaise in CFS and START and STOPP phenotypes of GWI.

Introduction
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)1,2,3,4 and Gulf War Illness (GWI)5,6,7,8are nociceptive, interoceptive, fatiguing illnesses that are currently defined by symptoms and exclusion of other conditions in their extensive differential diagnoses9. CFS developed from medical traditions of neurasthenia10 and viral infection11, and GWI from “signs, symptoms, and ill-defined conditions (SSID; International Classification of Diseases-9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes 780-799)”12. These legacies are being revised based on new discoveries about disease pathogenesis13,14,15,16,17,18. With the revisions comes an increasing need for objective biomarkers to define and diagnose these diseases.

 

[Countrygirl]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5070425/Chronic-fatigue-syndrome-not-mind.html

The Daily Mail reports on the study and prints a ridiculous photo of a yawing typist, illustrating once again that they just 'don't get it', but at least the article is one step forward.




Chronic fatigue syndrome is NOT all in the mind- but caused by changes in brain chemistry, a study finds

• Chronic fatigue syndrome and Gulf War Illness are caused by changes in brain chemistry and are not psychological disorders
• Both disorders cause pain, physical and mental fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and flu-like symptoms
• Controversy has raged for nearly 30 years on whether the disorders were genuine illnesses
• Now researchers from Georgetown University have found changing levels in molecules in sufferers' brains

By KAYLA BRANTLEY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 16:21, 10 November 2017 | UPDATED: 16:21, 10 November 2017



Chronic fatigue syndrome is not a psychological disorder as previously thought, researchers claim after finding evidence that the condition is caused by changes in brain chemistry.

Controversy has raged for nearly 30 years on whether the debilitating condition that causes pain, physical and mental fatigue and cognitive dysfunction was a genuine illness as critics speculated that it was all in the mind.

Now researchers have found changing levels in a brain molecule called miRNA in patients, which is responsible for turning protein production on and off, subsequently causing the tiring symptoms.

The findings lay the groundwork to better treat and understand the disorder that affects nearly three million Americans.

+1
Chronic fatigue syndrome and Gulf War Illness are caused by changes in brain chemistry and are not psychological disorders as it was previously thought, a study from Georgetown University found



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...-fatigue-syndrome-not-mind.html#ixzz4y3JYh6Sb
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[Countrygirl]

Not a good day for Sir Simon Wessley.

He got it wrong about Camelford.

He got it wrong about GWI

He got it wrong about ME.

isn't it about time he retired before he embarrasses himself further?

 

[lilpink]

isn't it about time he retired before he embarrasses himself further?

Not as much fun for us than if he had a very public fall from grace

 

[Countrygirl]

Not as much fun for us than if he had a very public fall from grace

I doubt that will happen, as he is an Establishment figure. They are well protected as we know.

 

[JaimeS]

Ugh the photo.

 

[lilpink]

I doubt that will happen, as he is an Establishment figure. They are well protected as we know.

The Teflon coating of many a big cheese (to mix metaphors) can wear thin. In every walk of life those who think they can behave however they like and get away with it are finding that there is a day of reckoning after all.

 

[Countrygirl]

The Teflon coating of many a big cheese (to mix metaphors) can wear thin. In every walk of life those who think they can behave however they like and get away with it are finding that there is a day of reckoning after all.

..........................Usually after they are safely six feet under...............

 

[Murph]

"CFS was distinguished from the other groups by having significant reductions of miR-126-5p, miR-186-3p, miR-19b-3p, miR-92a-3p and miR-505-3p compared to the nonexercise cfs0 group (Fig. 10). Specificities and sensitivities were about 0.82 for miR-328, miR-608 and miR-92a-3p. The large number of exercise – induced reductions in miRNAs differentiated CFS from SC and the GWI phenotypes"


"CFS had 12 diminished and zero elevated miRNAs after exercise indicating its pathophysiology and responses to exercise were unique compared to GWI and control subjects."

Idk what it means but it looks like they found a real result..

 

[Mary]

Thanks for posting @Countrygirl! I skimmed the paper very quickly, I'm not a scientist at all, but this seems huge to me, finding distinct signatures for CFS and 2 variations of GWI in cerebrospinal fluid, post-exertion. When rested, these abnormalities were not present. This seems potentially a game-changer to me, or maybe I'm overly optimistic?

 

[duncan]

Sometimes in people with channelopathies, neurologists will evoke a response through exercise or eating something. This evocation defines or helps parse down on the diagnosis.

What Baraniuk and his team may have done is found a way of demonstrating CFS through another exercise mechanism, or he may have found a way of demonstrating two types of PEM.

I cannot get my head around the semantics, or if there is any meaningful distinction between CSF abnormalities leading to a direct diagnosis, or one step removed via PEM.

BTW, I think there may be more coming out of that team. As I recall, the study protocol included two fMRIs - one before, and one after exercise.

 

[SilverbladeTE]

Not a good day for Sir Simon Wessley.

He got it wrong about Camelford.

He got it wrong about GWI

He got it wrong about ME.

isn't it about time he retired before he embarrasses himself further?

and other things

it's one thing to make a screw up on an esoteric part of Science that has no effect on people, that gets you disgraced and maybe lose a job.
it is something completely different to actively prevent research, treatment and humane behaviour to seriously ill people, that should get you jailed for murder.

 

[ash0787]

sigh, daily mail people shouldn't write science articles unless they have a reasonable level of experience with it,
trying to say it causes it is completely misleading

 

[RogerBlack]

sigh, daily mail people shouldn't write science articles unless they have a reasonable level of experience with it,
trying to say it causes it is completely misleading

Meh.
It's not technically accurate, but the author gets a hell of a pass for the first words being

Chronic fatigue syndrome is not a psychological disorder as previously thought

I'd almost give them a pass if they gave the reason as problems with the midichlorians after that.

 

[Murph]

Am I going mad or do the captions in the graphics not match the graphics? (a) appears to refer to miR -99, but the caption say miR-22 and the description of the distributions makes no sense either.

I've found the same sort of issue in trying to interpret all the graphs. I don't know much about miRNA but I'm trying to learn and this is very confusing.

EDIT: First 4 graphics are okay. Then some of them seem to be offset e.g. caption on graph 8 refers to graph 7. Others make no sense.

EDIT 2: I emailed James Baraniuk who seems to be a very nice man and he is trying to get the captions fixed.

 

[Dolphin]

Basic question here: why do the sample sizes vary so much in the non-exercise and post-exercise groups? Are they completely different groups or was data missing for some? I thought everyone did exercise test? For example, "non-exercise" gulf war: n=22. Post-exercise, n=64 (22+42). For CFS, non-exercise group n=43; post-exercise, n=16.

 

[JaimeS]

Basic question here: why do the sample sizes vary so much in the non-exercise and post-exercise groups? Are they completely different groups or was data missing for some? I thought everyone did exercise test? For example, "non-exercise" gulf war: n=22. Post-exercise, n=64 (22+42). For CFS, non-exercise group n=43; post-exercise, n=16.

Just guessing, but I'd think that there were some CFS patients who were too severe or who the researchers ethically decided probably shouldn't exercise.

 

[Dolphin]

Just guessing, but I'd think that there were some CFS patients who were too severe or who the researchers ethically decided probably shouldn't exercise.

But why would there be a lot more GWI patients in the post exercise group than at baseline?

 

[Murph]

@Dolphin Their methods section is kind of a mess but my read was theythey have two broad groups, one tested after sleep, one after exercise.

What they haven't done is give the same person two lumbar punctures, before and after exercise. (so far as I can tell) Perhaps because of the nature of that procedure?

The sample sizes are different in the different broad groups. The reason they have so many post-exercise GWI patients is, I suspect, they are trying to get a good sample size on each of their two hypothesised groupings, START and STOPP (first one has tachycardia, second one doesn't).