I am obviously several years behind on current CFS research, but when I read Health Rising’s blog The RCCX Hypothesis: Could It Help Explain Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Other Diseases? I couldn’t decide whether to shout for joy or break down and cry. Dr. Meglathery puts a name to a theory (albeit a complex one) that reinforces some thoughts about CFS I’ve been harboring for decades.
First, the idea of stressors and cell danger signaling. Three decades ago, when I realized something was going terribly wrong with my body, I desperately tried to explain to medical professionals what this “wrongness” was like. I explained in a way I thought they could understand, that I was certain that, for months at a time, I had survived only on Adrenalin. And then one day I woke up and my supply had dried up. I would ask them to imagine coming only inches from having your car hit by a train. Rather than fear, you feel superhuman strength and mental focus as you maneuver your vehicle out of the path of the train. It is the instant you realize you are safe that fear sets in, along with muscle-burning weakness and profound mental fatigue. Of course, we all know this is the “fight or flight response.” And that it is perfectly normal. The “wrongness” begins when you have the “near-miss” physical experience again and again, and for no apparent reason, and the weakness and fatigue last for weeks, not seconds. My attempt at describing my symptoms never worked. I was inevitably told that I must be suffering from an anxiety/panic disorder and should see a psychiatrist. But anxiety and panic do not put you in bed for weeks, and physically exhausted for months. There had to be something more going on. But what? Nobody knew.
In the 90’s I began to wonder if there was a sociological cause for my symptoms. About that time, we began to see an increase in autoimmune disorders. The medical establishment claimed that it wasn’t an increase in chronic illness, but an increase in their ability to diagnose it. But it was also in the 1990’s that the corporate culture changed dramatically. Eighty to 120 hour work weeks suddenly became the norm for ambitious young professionals, fresh out of grad school, who wanted to climb the corporate ladder. This new business model quickly spread across the country, along with the corporation-encouraged myth that working to the point of exhaustion was a badge of honor. This change in the norm, was particularly hard on working women. So, to counter negativity and encourage productivity, corporations spent millions on classes for women that focused on the myth that they could have it all—a lucrative professional career along with a husband, family, and a house in the Hamptons. Corporations began offering on-premises child-care, dry cleaning, take-out restaurants, and “minute” clinics—to ensure they got longer and longer hours from their female employees. These services were sold as employee benefits, when in truth they benefited only the pocketbooks of employers. The toxic effect of this sociological swing was that employees were rewarded for pushing themselves past their physical and mental capabilities—the result being a bunch of sick people being treated for stress-related physical and mental disorders.
Though, no doubt there are a few individuals, who thrive in a environment defined by stress, the majority of the working population, most especially the carriers of CYP31A2 mutations, become overwhelmed. This group develops either a stress ‘switch,’ where symptoms are not experienced until a certain threshold is reached,” or “an exaggerated stress response...(that) likely creates PTSD wiring in the brain, with dysautomanis and elevated danger responses over time (Remy, 2018).
Dr. Robert Naviaux’s work on Cell Danger Response fits neatly into Meglathery’s RCCX mutation theory, especially the hypothesis that, during prolonged stress (such as the corporate culture described above), a chronically stressed individual with a CYP21A2 mutation will enter into a vicious cycle of high cortisol levels followed by a lowering of basal cortisol until “overwhelm” occurs—causing an increase of Cortisol Releasing Hormone with all the negative physical symptoms and intolerances increased CRH implies. (Hopefully, I got that right...if not, forgive a novice).
One would need a post graduate degree in chemistry to truly understand these brand new theories. But so many of the common denominators of CFS are addressed here, most importantly stress in all its forms—physical, emotional, infectious— that the study deserves our attention and support.
My posts are far too long, but there is so much in this study to digest. From here I hope to read all the other posts in the forum on this study, so I can better understand the studies potential efficacy long-term. But I am excited about the human genome study and its potential to make a difference in our lives—and in the very near future.