Journal of IiME Volume 6 Issue 1 (June 2012) way….the higher it is, the worse the function of the patient….(In summary) (1) The immunologic changes seen in (ME)CFS and GWI are consistent with that seen in chronic viral illnesses (2) Immune dysregulation has been extensively studied, and patterns that would reasonably leave the subject vulnerable to viral reactivation have been shown (3) In considering clinical trials, consideration of immune modulators should be considered, together with antiviral therapies. To sum up, the immune changes that we see in (ME)CFS are absolutely what you should see in a chronic viral state; the cells that clear viruses that are latent that are trying to reactivate – the very cells that prevent reactivation of latent viruses – are the ones that are most dysfunctional. It’s an important point to be made….NKCC and intracellular perforin are biomarkers for (ME)CFS. CD2+26+ lymphocytes, rmolCD26 on lymphocytes and sCD26 in plasma are likely to be biomarkers for (ME)CFS. NPT is elevated in (ME)CFS; this may be an important biomarker and has high correlation with cognitive symptoms…. The NK cell is a good surrogate marker for the severity of the illness (and) so is the perforin content, so is the granzyme content (and) it’s also important to recognise that the cytotoxic T-cell is equally affected. Finally, these biomarkers coming from immunology-land might be very very useful in clinical trials”. 2009 On 20th February 2009 Professor Nancy Klimas gave an interview and an international press release in which she said: “A biomarker for ME/CFS may be less than two years away….We are closing in on being able to identify the root causes of a disease which affects millions of people around the world – one that is poorly understood and treated by the medical community….No longer will those afflicted be dismissed by the medical community and, all too often, by their own family and friends as having that ‘yuppie thing’….There are at least three, perhaps even seven, sub-groups of what we call ME/CFS…they may be thought of as three to seven different conditions with closely related symptoms…ME/CFS is a world wide problem that afflicts at least 28 million people, perhaps many more than that….The disease is so widespread that…a clearly focused international approach will Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) the metabolic, adrenergic and immune ion channel receptors were up-regulated for days after exercise in people with ME/CFS, with virtually no up-regulation in healthy controls -- metabolic, adrenergic and immune ion channel receptor mRNA markedly increases in people with ME/CFS but not in healthy controls Professor Mary Ann Fletcher (University of Miami) provided evidence that neuropeptide Y (NPY), a neurotransmitter that is concentrated in sympathetic nerve endings, is elevated in people with ME/CFS in relation to stress much more than in normal controls clearly and dramatically speed up…the benefits for those afflicted”. The interviewer commented that this was simply a deeply concerned and compassionate physician and research scientist speaking about that to which she has devoted her life (Co-Cure NOT; RES 24th February 2009). 2009 The world’s most knowledgeable ME/CFS scientists and clinicians met at the 9th International Association for ME/CFS Research and Clinical Conference (formerly the American Association for CFS – AACFS – but now the IACFS/ME) held on 12th – 16th March 2009 in Reno, Nevada. Of special note is that Professor Leonard Jason, a world-renowned ME/CFS investigator from De Paul University, USA, reported in his presentation “Activity Management” that one group of ME/CFS patients did not benefit from cognitive behavioural interventions: this was the subset of patients whose laboratory investigations showed them to be the most severely affected and who had increased immune dysfunction and low cortisol levels. In his Summary of the Reno Conference, Professor Charles Lapp noted that: www.investinme.org Page 84 of 108
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