Distinct plasma immune signatures in ME/CFS are present early in the course of illness

[helvella]

I know next to nothing about ME/CFS so shall not pretend otherwise.

This, however, looked interesting and made me wonder if there could be parallels in other disorders/diseases?

Science Advances 27 Feb 2015:

Vol. 1 no. 1 e1400121

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1400121

Distinct plasma immune signatures in ME/CFS are present early in the course of illness

Mady Hornig, José G. Montoya, Nancy G. Klimas, Susan Levine, Donna Felsenstein, Lucinda Bateman, Daniel L. Peterson, C. Gunnar Gottschalk, Andrew F. Schultz, Xiaoyu Che, Meredith L. Eddy, Anthony L. Komaroff, W. Ian Lipkin

Abstract

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is an unexplained incapacitating illness that may affect up to 4 million people in the United States alone. There are no validated laboratory tests for diagnosis or management despite global efforts to find biomarkers of disease. We considered the possibility that inability to identify such biomarkers reflected variations in diagnostic criteria and laboratory methods as well as the timing of sample collection during the course of the illness. Accordingly, we leveraged two large, multicenter cohort studies of ME/CFS to assess the relationship of immune signatures with diagnosis, illness duration, and other clinical variables. Controls were frequency-matched on key variables known to affect immune status, including season of sampling and geographic site, in addition to age and sex. We report here distinct alterations in plasma immune signatures early in the course of ME/CFS (n = 52) relative to healthy controls (n = 348) that are not present in subjects with longer duration of illness (n = 246). Analyses based on disease duration revealed that early ME/CFS cases had a prominent activation of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines as well as dissociation of intercytokine regulatory networks. We found a stronger correlation of cytokine alterations with illness duration than with measures of illness severity, suggesting that the immunopathology of ME/CFS is not static. These findings have critical implications for discovery of interventional strategies and early diagnosis of ME/CFS.

advances.sciencemag.org/con...

Rod

[faith63]

Maybe this will lead them to something that will then help Hashimotos, since they think all that you need is Levothyroxine and there are no other symptoms with Hashi's, but the same high Cytokines are involved with that too.

[beaton]

Yes I agree with Faith. Seems to me that ME and Diabetes get all the attention,even my GP says thyroid is the poor relation.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to beaton]

Well all you need to do is take a little white pill every day...

The perception that thyroid is "solved" and "easy" means that it is treated in the same way as a common cold - suffer a little bit and get over it.

[beaton in reply to helvella]

Don't start me off Rod.xx

[beaton]

In retrospect I now know my Hashimoto's started 1978/79. In 1982 my sisters husband left her with two young children. Suddenly she had ME,got all the help in the world and still is. Me told to get on with it,it happens to women with young children. I didn't get diagnosed until 2009 and yes then take a little pill.

It infuriates me the way people with thyroid problems are treated. Through forums and in life I have met many who are still being treated so badly and those I've met in real life seem to take it on the chin because the doctor must know best.

[Hidden]

All I know from blood tests is my white blood cell count has been abnormally high since the 90's when my symptoms started. I was told it needed following up but it never was. Then 4 years ago when I was in hospital with a stuck kidney stone, the doctor didn't want to discharge me through my abnormally high white blood count, he said it needed investigated. Also in the 90's my ESR was abnormal, and the doctor said it needed following up, but that didn't happen either. Now my ESR is the highest it's ever been, and now my CRP is high too. All flagged but ignored.

I'm sure if the people with ME and chronic fatigue had extensive blood tests and follow up, just maybe something could have been done before it got really bad.

How many times does the lab flag things only for it to be ignored? In my case all the time!