Open Australia (SA) SAHMRI Biomarkers for ME/CFS ('Good Day/Bad Day' Study)

[Tom Kindlon]

https://mecfssa.org.au/news-events/current-sa-research

SAHMRI Biomarkers for ME/CFS

Study 2: 'Good Day/Bad Day' Study
This research is a multidisciplinary approach to investigate ME/CFS which aims to take some blood, urine and faecal samples from 60 people (including 20 healthy controls), during two phases of illness. This includes when the person is experiencing a period of feeling unwell, and when their symptoms are reduced.

There will also be a series of questionnaires that gather health and personal information about you, so that we can match information about you with your samples and ME/CFS symptoms.

The research team intend to examine the components in your blood (biomarkers) that may inform them about the differences between what is often called an ME/CFS crash (where the person feels very unwell) and then they will re-examine blood and urine biomarkers when the same person is feeling considerably better.

Biomarkers include ‘cytokines’ that may inform about inflammation and how your body is responding to your current period of illness. By matching a period when you feel sick and a period of when you are well, the researchers may see some differences.

Difficulty with sleep is often experienced by those diagnosed with ME/CFS, so participants in the study will undergo sleep monitoring for a night (or a 12-hour period to match your usual sleeping pattern). A sleep monitor will be supplied, which will measure your bodily activity overnight. They will then retrieve the sleep monitor the following day.

This project is being conducted by:
Lead, Dr Michael Musker - SAHMRI and Adelaide University
Dr Martin Lewis - SAHMRI and Adelaide University

To participate, contact Dr Martin Lewis at martin.lewis@sahmri.com for further information.

Download the Participant Information & Consent Sheet from the SAHMRI page https://sahmri.org.au/research/them...biomarkers-in-me-cfs-sufferers/clinical-trial

 

[Tom Kindlon]

Part two of the good day/bad day study shouldn't be confused with part one which has already been completed:

https://mecfssa.org.au/news-events/current-sa-research?mc_cid=04c002c133&mc_eid=3457f0a9d0

Study 1: Cytokines and clinical symptoms
Following a half day of clinical evaluation, participants were waited on hand and foot as blood samples were collected at 7 minute intervals over eight hours. Warmly known as the Vampire Study, the original plan was to look at Leptin and Interleukin-6. Samples from the resulting ME/CFS biobank have since been analysed for additional cytokines based on emerging research. It is anticipated that the biobank will later be used for genetic studies.

Study 1 is no longer recruiting and analysis of the collected samples is continuing.

Lead researchers: Dr Michael Musker, Dr Martin Lewis

 

[Tom Kindlon]

Still recruiting according to the latest ME/CFS (SA) e-newsletter:

SAHMRI is expanding their cytokine research with a ‘Good day/Bad day’ biomarker study. They are still looking for healthy controls as well as people with ME/CFS. There is information on the Current SA Research page of our website.
“Dr Michael Musker and Dr Martin Lewis are lovely gentlemen. They came to my home to collect blood and other data and were nothing but kind, considerate and courteous. I look forward to seeing the results of the study.” <deleted>, July 2022

 

[cassava7]

This reminds me of a Guardian article where Dr Peter Goadsby, one of the neuroscientists who discovered the pathophysiology of migraine (and received the Brain prize), was interviewed. He noted that a migraine has in fact already kicked in by the time premonitory signs (e.g. yawning) appear.

If we can extrapolate at all from migraine to ME/CFS, it may be that by the time participants get to the center to have their biological samples collected, PEM has already started at the biological level. This might unfortunately be a confounder for OK/bad days studies, although this line of research is of course very interesting.