Journal of IiME Volume 6 Issue 1 (June 2012) 1994 “These data suggest a correlation between low levels of NK cell activity and severity of CFIDS…. Compromised or absent natural immunity is associated with…acute and chronic viral infections such as AIDS, CFIDS… and various immunodeficiency syndromes. Our results confirm and extend previous reports that low NK cell cytotoxicity is a pronounced immunologic abnormality found in some patients with (ME)CFS… The fact that NK cell activity decreases with increased severity and duration of certain clinical variables suggests that measurement of NK cell function could be useful for stratification of patients and possibly for monitoring therapy for and/or the progression of CFIDS” (EA OjoAmaize et al. Clin Inf Dis 1994:18: (Suppl 1):S157159). 1994 “In summary, recent data, including findings presented in this supplement, have continued to support the possibility that immunologic factors are important in the development of (ME)CFS. Several potentially important clues to the nature of the immunologic disturbance are available. The time is ripe for more sophisticated immunologioc hypotheses for the pathogenesis of (ME)CFS) to be developed and tested” (Andrew R Lloyd and Nancy Klimas. Clin Inf Dis 1994:18: (Suppl 1):S160-161). 1994 “Abnormalities of immune function, hypothalamic and pituitary function, neurotransmitter regulation and cerebral perfusion have been found in patients with (ME/CFS). Recent research has yielded remarkable data. The symptoms of (ME)CFS have long been viewed as a neurologic pattern, as confirmed by other names such as myalgic encephalomyelitis. A link is being forged between the symptoms pattern of (ME)CFS and objective evidence of central nervous system dysfunction. The view that (ME)CFS is a primary emotional illness has been undermined by recent research” (David S Bell. Postgraduate Medicine 1994:98:6:73-81). Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) 1994 On 13th September 1994 the Report of the UK National Task Force on CFS/PVFS/ME was published; it was an initiative of the charity Westcare (no longer in existence) and was supported by the Department of Health and the Wellcome Trust. The section on immunology states: “Many groups have suggested that an immunological disturbance could account for the clinical features of the chronic fatigue syndrome (and) many have described abnormalities of immune function….NK cells have been studied particularly intensively in patients with (ME)CFS….Two main patterns of immunological abnormality have emerged from detailed studies of patients…the first is immunodepression and the second is activation of the immune system….Reduced NK cell function has been consistently reported….Strict criteria for diagnosing (ME)CFS have improved the correlation between the results of the immunological investigations and the clinical features of the patients studied….Perhaps the principal practical value of immunological tests, as currently performed, is to give additional evidence for an organic component”. 1994 The Autumn (Fall) 1994 issue of The CFIDS Chronicle published questions and answers in the section “Ask the Doctor”. One such was the reply provided by Professor Anthony Komaroff from Harvard, who is also Chief of the General Medicine Division at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, as well as leading a research team for one of the three NIH-funded CFS Co-operative Research Centres. In reply to the question “Why do (ME)CFS patients tend to relapse after exercise?”, Komaroff was clear: “this is due to an unusual reaction of the immune system to exercise”. He went on to explain that: “Research groups around the world continue to report that the (ME)CFS patient’s immune system seems to be in a chronically stimulated state, as if it is engaged in a battle against something it perceives as foreign to the body. Even though the immune system is often in a chronically-stimulated state, some parts of the system seem not to be working very well --- perhaps because they have been working too hard”. www.investinme.org Page 47 of 108
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