I was reading this paper (2021):
https://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-021-03143-3
And stumbled upon this interesting excerpt:
To put it in simple terms, the author thinks that when we exert our muscles certain substances are released to compensate for the lack of energy. These same substances are vasodilators i.e. they expand the blood vessels, including those in the head leading to increase in intracranial pressure.
Now this is very interesting to me, because the PEM headache I get feels exactly like that, i.e. a feeling of outward pressure.
There have been studies that show increased intracranial pressure in CFS sufferers, thus supporting their theory. Too bad there have not been any studies measuring intracranial pressure before and after an activity (eg. stress test on a bike). That's the kind of studies we need to fully confirm this theory.
In conclusion this seems quite an interesting lead. Granted, even if the hypothesis is confirmed, it still does not tell us what is causing the underlying energy dysfunction. But at the least it would give us some proof that there is something wrong, possibly a new tool doctors could use for diagnosis too.
https://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-021-03143-3
And stumbled upon this interesting excerpt:
Hypoperfusion of skeletal muscle together with mitochondrial dysfunction leads to the excessive production of various endogenous vasodilators in skeletal muscles and to their spillover into the systemic circulation, from where they can reach every organ including the brain [43]. One of these mediators, bradykinin, is the most potent opener of the blood brain barrier (BBB) [1, 31] which may be of relevance for the neurological findings and symptoms. Opening of the BBB may explain moderate IH for which we have provided the evidence above. We could not find in the literature what the symptoms of isolated opening of the BBB would be but we assume it to be rather pathological. The algesic and hyperalgesic properties of the tissue mediators released from skeletal muscles may cause headache by directly acting on cerebrovascular nociceptors, by the release of CGRP and substance P and by edematous distension. Headache could also originate from myalgia of head and neck muscles and from IH
Now this is very interesting to me, because the PEM headache I get feels exactly like that, i.e. a feeling of outward pressure.
There have been studies that show increased intracranial pressure in CFS sufferers, thus supporting their theory. Too bad there have not been any studies measuring intracranial pressure before and after an activity (eg. stress test on a bike). That's the kind of studies we need to fully confirm this theory.
In conclusion this seems quite an interesting lead. Granted, even if the hypothesis is confirmed, it still does not tell us what is causing the underlying energy dysfunction. But at the least it would give us some proof that there is something wrong, possibly a new tool doctors could use for diagnosis too.