Re: Simmaron Research
NEID Disease? Study Suggests Neuro, Endocrine and Immune Systems Work Together to Produce ME/CFS
By: Cort Johnson
January 26, 2018
I am no science genius and therefore had to make notes to myself in order to understand and absorb the information Cort Johnson related in his excellent article on Dr.Bruun Wyllier of Oslo Univerisity’s research.
For those who are either too ill to read the whole article or need a shorter version due to limited energy, I am sharing my notes with you, including explanations of keywords.
In Cort Johnson’s article, he states that Dr. Bruun Wyller of Oslo University had suggested that more research had to be done into the Epstein-Barr virus in ME/CFS. Now Dr. Wyller is looking at the interaction between the immune and endocrine systems.
Dr. Wyller began his new study reporting there was probably systemic inflammation present and B-cell functioning is impaired.
A *meta-analysis of 38 ME/CFS cytokine studies examining 77 *cytokines, only TGF-B was consistently elevated in 2/3rds of the studies. Cort Johnson doesn’t understand why TGF-B was not studied more, given it consistently shows up in studies. TGF-B can function as both an anti and pro-inflammatory cytokine depending on the situation it’s in.
Its three forms are involved in both inflammation and immunity and also affects or is affected by two stress-response systems in our bodies which appear to increase TGF-B levels and appear to also increase *cortisol levels.
In the past, Dr. Wyller used broad definitions for ME/CFS but this time used the Fukuda and our Canadian Consensus criteria (CCC) to determine if different definitions bring different results. It didn’t nor were TGF-B levels higher in adolescents nor was TGF-B associated with any clinical markers. It turns out that TGF-B is associated with increased levels of the stress hormones cortisol, *norepinephrine and *epinephrine in ME/CFS patients but not in controls. This association also corresponded with symptom severity. Dr. Wyller found that TGF-B levels were not important but the network they were embedded in was.
Cort Johnson says that we will shortly see from Dr. Klimas intense testing during exercise suggests exercise-induced immune activity trips off automic nervous problems in ME/CFS. Dr. Gordon Broderick’s studies suggest that cytokine levels don’t need to be high to have untoward effects on ME/CFS patients but simply depend upon where they are embedded in. Dr. Wyller believes a complex neuro-endocrine-immune interaction may be contributing to the fatigue and possibly to the EBV issues in ME/CFS. Dr. Wyller’s follow-up study will be to check interaction with EBV and determine how effectively the B=cells in ME/CFS patients respond to EBV in the presense of neuroendocrine hormones.
To read the entire article, please go to:
NEID Disease? Study Suggests Neuro, Endocrine and Immune Systems Work Together to Produce ME/CFS
Meanings:
META-ANALYSIS: Conceptually, a meta-analysis uses a statistical approach to combine the results from multiple studies in an effort to increase power (over individual studies), improve estimates of the size of the effect and/or to resolve uncertainty when reports disagree.
CYTOKINES: any of a number of substances, such as interferon, interleukin, and growth factors, that are secreted by certain cells of the immune system and have an effect on other cells.
CORTISO: another term for hydrocortisone aka a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex and used medicinally to treat inflammation resulting from eczema and rheumatism.
NOREPINEPHRINE: a chemical released from the sympathetic nervous system in response to stress. It is classified as a neurotransmitter, a chemical that is released from neurons. Because the release of norepinephrine affects other organs of the body, it is also referred to as a stress hormone.
EPINEPHRINE: also known as adrenalin or adrenaline, is a hormone, neurotransmitter, and medication. Epinephrine is normally produced by both the adrenal glands and certain neurons.
