Interview with neuroscientist Michael VanElzakker: Vagus Nerve, ME/CFS, latent infection and more

Cheshire

Cheshire

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
by Amy Proal

Michael VanElzakker Phd, is a neuroscientist affiliated at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Tufts University. He has two primary research interests: PostTraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, and Myalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). He recently published a paper describing a novel hypothesis for ME/CFS that centers on infection of the Vagus Nerve.
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http://microbeminded.com/2017/12/07...-vagus-nerve-mecfs-latent-infection-and-more/
 
Good for him. Seems like a ballsy guy, especially in light of his affiliation with Mass General and Harvard Medical (merely mentioning Bb in a sentence that might be interpreted as suggesting Lyme can be an ongoing infectious Vagus Nerve agent is a thing of beauty - many would suggest those facilities' history with Lyme is arguably worse than they have been with ME/CFS).
 
Interview said:
Me: [...] you recently asked for brain scan donations in a Tweet. I think that’s awesome. It helps people donate money towards a specific goal with an outcome that’s easy to follow

Yes, so far my salary as a post doc has been paid by donors. These donations are sent to Mass General and are enormously helpful. I’m really appreciative. But it’s also so hard to start a research position from scratch. Normally as a post doc I would enter an already-established lab that’s already doing the kind of work I want to do. But I’m starting something totally new with my ME/CFS research. It’s a stupid amount of work:) For that particular project I want to run a handful of brain scans to get good pilot data. Just five scans would be enough, so that’s what I am trying to raise. And even if donations trickle in slowly, when I reach $5900 I can do the scan immediately. That’s opposed to applying a formal grant for millions of dollars and waiting long periods for a decision.

It’s a bit of a Catch-22 because it’s hard to apply for big money without data, and hard to get data without money. If I do the scans with private funding I can use my pilot data to hopefully get a larger government grant. I want to call the NIH’s bluff and see if they really are willing to fund research here. Francis Collins and the NIH seem earnestly invested in helping ME/CFS. So I’m gonna get good pilot data and say, “Here you go!” Now really fund this:)
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Edit: Here's the donation link: https://because.massgeneral.org/cam...onic-fatigue-syndrome-research-at-mgh/c153689
 
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@Cheshire, thanks for posting that interview. seems like for a really low cost, some interesting research could be initiated.

I was struck by his discussion with Dr. Linda Watkins of the University of Colorado. she is a very highly respected and publishes frequently on microglia and it’s interactions in neuroimmune system. i’m going to look into donating.
 
When joining the ME/CFS research community I had to make a decision: to put my head down and just do science, or to also really make an effort to interact with and advocate for patients. I decided to advocate for patients, and in order to do that I’ve had to spend hours reading about PACE and digging into related critiques (because that’s what patients are dealing with day-to-day). But that’s time I could spend researching the biology. Also the 5 million that went to PACE: I could do a lot of really relevant/important ME/CFS research with that money.
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What a great guy!
 
Only read the first section. What a hero. Crying my eyes out. Needed to hear something positive today. Haven't even reached the research yet - might need a bit more brain for that. I've been following him on Twitter and I knew he got it but I didn't realise how much! For all the shite we have to contend with we do have stuff to feel hopeful about.
 
I may be the exception here, but I am not so fascinated or happy by what he's saying although I am thankful for his work and enthusiasm. It's just a feeling.

E.g. he says somatoform illnesses are real - where's the proof for that? If it's real, i.e. part of our reality, there should be a scientific proof.

He also gives psychology lectures, even if they might contain critical content (which is good!). And his other focus are post-traumatic disorders where he's also doing brain scan research.

What tells me he differentiates clearly and cleanly between his psycho work and science and doesn't mix things with each other, or that he doesn't view results with "psycho glasses"?

I may be over-critical and too distrustful.
 
I am pleased that a young researcher is keen to help ME patients by doing research, and by communicating with patients on twitter.

I have no idea whether there is any mileage in his theory about vagus nerve infection, and the scans seem very expensive. I hope he finds something fairy definitive one way or the other in his first few scans so he doesn't waste time and money if it turns out to be wrong.
 
His focus on how a vagus nerve infection could cause sickness response seems to sort of skip over ME/CFS symptoms which can't be explained by a sickness response. Why do we have PEM or twitching muscles? Why don't we have a fever?

It's better than most "central" hypothesis (involving the Central Nervous System), but doesn't seem to answer some of the more difficult questions.
 
I agree, and I don't see how it can explain the 2 day CPET response, which shows clearly that we are unable to use our muscles efficiently on the second day. And the cellular research that shows lower aerobic activity in blood cells.
 
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