Journal of IiME Volume 6 Issue 1 (June 2012) found include activated lymphocytes in various subsets, elevated levels of immunoglobulins (IgG in particular) and increased levels of immune molecules called pro-inflammatory cytokines (Conference Proceedings #047). Drs Patrick Englebienne, Kenny De Meirleir et al provided evidence of apoptosis (programmed cell death) in (ME)CFS that has been suggested to contribute to the symptomatology. RNase L has been directly linked to the induction of apoptosis. This study showed that the activation of RNase L in the PBMC (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) of (ME)CFS patients up-regulates apoptotic activity in these cells. This suggests that the perturbed apoptotic process may play a role in the altered immunologic function in (ME)CFS (Conference Proceedings #068). The final session on 28th January 2001 was a name-change open forum (Professors Nancy Klimas, Leonard Jason and Charles Lapp) because a new and more appropriate name than “chronic fatigue syndrome” was deemed necessary: the Committee came to the view that there was enough scientific evidence to base a new name on the fact that this illness has neurological, immunological and endocrine components, hence the suggestion of NIEDS (neuro-immuneendocrine dysfunction syndrome, which describes the underlying pathology) to replace CFS. This conference was reported in The CFIDS Chronicle, Spring 2001:14:2:1-6 and also in The CFS Research Review Spring 2001:2:2:4-8. 2001 In his “Directions in Immunotherapy”, Professor Roberto Patarca-Montero from the University of Miami School of Medicine said: “In a subset of (ME)CFS patients, the immune system is always activated…One hypothesis is that it is caused by a lingering infection or an infection that leaves autoimmune sequelae. Although the immune systems of some (ME)CFS patients are chronically activated, parts function poorly, particularly the T cells and natural killer cells….(ME)CFS patients’ T cells have a decreased capacity to divide and generate new T cells, and their NK cells have Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) significantly decreased cytotoxic activity. In (ME)CFS, the immune system is based on the type of response T cells mount to infection. Two types of T-helper cells boost the immune attack – Thelper type 1 (Th1) cells and T-helper type 2 (Th2) cells. The Th-1 cells stimulate macrophages and NK cells, which directly attack microbes that replicate in the body’s tissues. This type of response is called cellular immunity. Th2 cells attack foreign matter too large to be killed by macrophages or NK cells by preferentially stimulating B cells to produce antibodies. This type of response is called humoral immunity. In (ME)CFS, as in many autoimmune diseases, the body tends to mount a humoral response. Activated T-helper cells from (ME)CFS patients produce fewer Th-1 cytokines (substances that convey messages to other cells and mediate their function) and produce more interleukin-5, a Th-2-type cytokine. Several therapeutic interventions are being studied to help reverse this unfavourable cytokine expression in (ME)CFS patients” (The CFS Research Review Winter (January) 2001:2:1:1). 2001 “Of significant interest was the fact that, of all the cytokines evaluated, the only one to be in the final model was IL-4 (which) suggests a shift to a Type II cytokine pattern. Such a shift has been hypothesised, but until now convincing evidence was lacking” (Hanson et al; Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 2001:8(3)658-662). 2001 “There is considerable evidence already that the immune system is in a state of chronic activation in many patients with (ME)CFS” (Anthony Komaroff, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School: American Medical Association Statement, Co-Cure, 17 July 2001). 2001 In late autumn 2001 a Symposium on the immune system in (ME)CFS convened, with a panel of experts co-chaired by Dr Timothy Gerrity (Georgetown University Medical Centre) and Dr Dimitris Papanicolaou, (Emory University, Atlanta) and participants including Professors Nancy Klimas, Anthony Komaroff and Leonard Jason. It www.investinme.org Page 61 of 108
62 Publizr Home