How could the EU best advance research into ME/CFS?

[Hoopoe]

Let's assume that the EU decides to make €2 million available for ME/CFS research and projects.

What would be the best way to spend this money?

 

[Andy]

Establishing what over exertion looks like biologically in healthy people so that we can then compare this to what over exertion looks like biologically in patients. As far as I can tell, science doesn't seem to have done this deep analysis of the changes brought about in healthy people by over exertion that is needed as a baseline.

 

[Trish]

Establishing what over exertion looks like biologically in healthy people so that we can then compare this to what over exertion looks like biologically in patients. As far as I can tell, science doesn't seem to have done this deep analysis of the changes brought about in healthy people by over exertion that is needed as a baseline.

Haven't sports science people done some of that. I do remember hearing a discussion of how training regimes have changed so athletes don't push themselves to far, but that may have just been to prevent injury.
Isn't there something like 'overexercising syndrome'?

 

[Andy]

Haven't sports science people done some of that. I do remember hearing a discussion of how training regimes have changed so athletes don't push themselves to far, but that may have just been to prevent injury.
Isn't there something like 'overexercising syndrome'?

Here is the Wikipedia article for Overtraining, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtraining

Obviously take what is written with a pinch of salt but detail on cause and mechanism seem more than sparse to me.

Cause
Like pharmacological drugs, physical exercise may be chemically addictive. Addiction can be defined as the frequent engaging in the behavior to a greater extent or for a longer time period than intended.[16][17] It is theorized that this addiction is due to natural endorphins and dopamine generated and regulated by the exercise.[18] Whether strictly due to this chemical by-product or not, some people can be said to become addicted to or fixated on psychological/physical effects of physical exercise and fitness.[19] This may lead to overexercise, resulting in the "overtraining" syndrome.[20]

Mechanism
A number of possible mechanisms for overtraining have been proposed:

• Microtrauma to the muscles are created faster than the body can heal them.[21]
• Amino acids are used up faster than they are supplied in the diet. This is sometimes called "protein deficiency".[22]
• Systemic inflammation which results in the release of cytokines activating an immune response[23]

Going by Wikipedia there wouldn't seem to be anything certain about overtraining. Perhaps @PhysiosforME can confirm or deny that for us?

 

[Kitty]

I agree, overtraining is potentially an interesting area. There are some very good sports scientists at Loughborough University, who probably know as much as anyone about it.

Personally, I'd like to see some strategic thinking about what research avenues look most promising, work on how to agree a diagnostic assessment, and some focus on epidemiology. You wouldn't get much of that for two million Euros, but you could put the bones in place.

 

[NelliePledge]

Haven't sports science people done some of that. I do remember hearing a discussion of how training regimes have changed so athletes don't push themselves to far, but that may have just been to prevent injury.
Isn't there something like 'overexercising syndrome'?

. From what you hear on the Tour de France commentary the sports science people seem to have a lot of information about how the body uses energy. In some stages of the tour certain team mates deliberately push past what they would be able to sustain and then drop out of the lead having positioned their team mate for the final stretch.