redo
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Please be the devil's advocate and tell me why the hypothesis is unlikely.
Here goes.
I was among those who got Rituximab for my ME/CFS symptoms. It did nothing for me. But quite unexpectedly my symptoms were ameliorated when I got a IV antihistamine at the time of the infusions. Also when taken orally, a high dose of antihistamines makes my symptoms much more bearable.
So, any theory of ME/CFS must seek to explain the following (and please do add things to this list if you can think of any)
It is hypothesized that the increase in allergies is due to the fact that we are so much more hygienic now than before. Kids growing up today are washed and bathed and showered regularly, and this new hygiene regime gives our immune system so few intruders to fight off. When a intruder "finally" comes, the system can go into overdrive. Never mind that the intruder can be something as innocuous as birch pollen or the hair of a dog. And we know that the immune system can actually attack specific receptors in the brain, such as with Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.
Knowing that, we could hypothesize that the histamine system could actually react to a rush of catecholamines. This would certainly explain why people with ME/CFS can get worse from any sort of trivial sensory stimuli. This happens behind the blood-brain-barrier, so regular antihistamines in regular doses would do little to nothing.
The common denominator of extreme stress, giardiasis and mononucleosis is that they all affect our immune system. Could it be that such "triggers" kick-start an immune reaction that never stops?
And at last, if it indeed is so that we have an overactive histaminergic system, that would certainly explain why so many ME/CFS patients often get abnormal reactions to otherwise normal things, whether that be drugs or foods.
If this hypothesis is correct, for many of those given the diagnosis ME/CFS, then we'd expect that antihistamines in regular doses dose nothing. But megadosing could help, and the drug Xolair which brings down the antihistamine response with 90 % in vitro, may certainly help. I haven't found that many reports of ME/CFS patients using Xolair, but of the few I've found there has been some with no effect, and some that have benefited greatly, such as this patient: "I have been using Xolair for 5 months for CFS, not asthma, with incredible results"
This is a bold hypothesis, and I wrote it mostly to sort my own thoughts. So input is welcome.
Here goes.
I was among those who got Rituximab for my ME/CFS symptoms. It did nothing for me. But quite unexpectedly my symptoms were ameliorated when I got a IV antihistamine at the time of the infusions. Also when taken orally, a high dose of antihistamines makes my symptoms much more bearable.
So, any theory of ME/CFS must seek to explain the following (and please do add things to this list if you can think of any)
- Why the disease has increased in prevalence the last fifty years or so.
- Why ME/CFS affects more women than men.
- Why sensory stimuli can make the symptoms so much worse.
- Why transient and unrelated stressors like extreme stress, giardiasis and mononucleosis can trigger ME/CFS.
It is hypothesized that the increase in allergies is due to the fact that we are so much more hygienic now than before. Kids growing up today are washed and bathed and showered regularly, and this new hygiene regime gives our immune system so few intruders to fight off. When a intruder "finally" comes, the system can go into overdrive. Never mind that the intruder can be something as innocuous as birch pollen or the hair of a dog. And we know that the immune system can actually attack specific receptors in the brain, such as with Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.
Knowing that, we could hypothesize that the histamine system could actually react to a rush of catecholamines. This would certainly explain why people with ME/CFS can get worse from any sort of trivial sensory stimuli. This happens behind the blood-brain-barrier, so regular antihistamines in regular doses would do little to nothing.
The common denominator of extreme stress, giardiasis and mononucleosis is that they all affect our immune system. Could it be that such "triggers" kick-start an immune reaction that never stops?
And at last, if it indeed is so that we have an overactive histaminergic system, that would certainly explain why so many ME/CFS patients often get abnormal reactions to otherwise normal things, whether that be drugs or foods.
If this hypothesis is correct, for many of those given the diagnosis ME/CFS, then we'd expect that antihistamines in regular doses dose nothing. But megadosing could help, and the drug Xolair which brings down the antihistamine response with 90 % in vitro, may certainly help. I haven't found that many reports of ME/CFS patients using Xolair, but of the few I've found there has been some with no effect, and some that have benefited greatly, such as this patient: "I have been using Xolair for 5 months for CFS, not asthma, with incredible results"
This is a bold hypothesis, and I wrote it mostly to sort my own thoughts. So input is welcome.
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