Journal of IiME Volume 6 Issue 1 (June 2012) compromised immunity leads to a reactivation of latent viruses including HHV-6 and EBV. In some patients, it may well include the entero, coxsackie, echo, and even polio viruses….In other patients, environmental toxins could possibly compromise immunity….What all of the data indicates to me is something that will come as no surprise to any of you, and that is that CFIDS is not simply a state of mind”. Professor Nancy Klimas in her presentation entitled “Immunological markers in (ME)CFS” said: “The most compelling finding was that natural killer cell cytotoxicity in chronic fatigue syndrome was as low as we have ever seen in any disease. This is very, very significant data with very, very low levels of lymphocyte response to mitogens….The actual function was very,very low – 9% cytotoxicity; the mean for the controls was 25. In early HIV and even well into ARC (AIDS-related complex) NK cytotoxicity might be around 13 or 14 percent….Chronic fatigue syndrome patients represent the lowest cytotoxicity of all populations we’ve studied”. Dr Alan Landay said: “We have found changes in three markers which seem to be the most significant. First, the CD 11 B marker, which identifies the suppressor cell, decreases in CFIDS patients….There is also an increase in the CD38 and the HLA DR indicating activation….Flow (cytometry) has been a useful tool for studying a number of diseases, including cancer, AIDS, and autoimmune disease. It can identify individuals with immune disorders by using a large panel of markers….Flow cytometry has revealed evidence of CD8 activation in CFIDS”. Dr Jay Levy said: “if you look at the activation markers, they are raised in both CFIDS and acute viral illness….Some individuals…will not be able to turn off that activated state. The agent remains as a constant thorn, forcing the immune system to be activated until the agent is eliminated. In these individuals, the Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) 1991 The Spring 1991 (131-page) issue of The CFIDS Chronicle reported in full on the Charlotte, North Carolina, Conference, noting that Professor Nancy Klimas “unequivocally stated that all of her (ME)CFS patients had predictable laboratory abnormalities and that (ME)CFS is a form of acquired immunodeficiency”. 1991 In a Statement on 16th April 1991 by Dr Elaine DeFreitas and Dr Hilary Koprowski regarding CFIDS/ME to the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, Washington DC, Dr DeFreitas spoke out with a very strong voice: “Let us note at the beginning that CFIDS or CFS/ME is not about being tired. Researchers have demonstrated numerous abnormalities of the immune, muscular, cardiovascular and central nervous systems in people with CFS/ME; it is truly a multi-system disease with a strong component of immune dysfunction”. immune system never returns to a normal resting state. So these people are in a state of chronic immune activation. What is the result of this chronic immune activation? If an activated white cell is doing its duty, it has to be producing a certain number of lymphokines or cytokines that are working to control the agent that is infecting the body. But these cytokines can have side effects….Cytokines affect the brain, the bowel, the muscle, the liver (which) one sees in CFIDS. So, increased cytokine activation can affect many different tissues in the body (and) can also cause reactivation of other viruses….This disorder could be controlled by eliminating the causative agent or quieting down the hyperimmune system….There is much clinical information showing that (CFIDS) has often led to other immune diseases….The sequelae…include autoimmune disease and, on some occasions, MS”. www.investinme.org Page 39 of 108
40 Publizr Home