Hoopoe
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
https://bcmj.org/articles/mitochondrial-disease-clinical-manifestations-overview
This has some comments on adult-onset mitochondrial disease which is relevant to ME/CFS in my opinion. The authors say that:
Mitochondrial diseases are heterogeneous and multifaceted, and can present at any age. Clinical features may range from an acute life-threatening metabolic derangement to intermittent or episodic crises with partial recovery to a more gradual progressive neurodevelopmental decline or regression.
Adult-onset mitochondrial disease often presents in subtle ways.
Adult-onset mitochondrial disease is typically a progressive multisystem disorder.
Although adults with mitochondrial disease may present with findings that are characteristic of a typical syndrome, more commonly they do not.
Mitochondrial disease often involves the following systems: central nervous system, peripheral nervous system (peripheral neuropathy), vision and hearing, skeletal muscle problems, heart, gastrointestinal system, endocrine system.
The relevance to ME/CFS is that a portion of people being diagnosed with ME/CFS may actually have difficult to diagnose mitochondrial disease (or a similar metabolic disease that affecting energy production).
Assuming that ME/CFS causes problems with energy production through a different mechanism than a genetic defect (which currently seems like a reasonable hypothesis), it could intensify the negative effects of subtle or subclinical defects in energy production.
This has some comments on adult-onset mitochondrial disease which is relevant to ME/CFS in my opinion. The authors say that:
Mitochondrial diseases are heterogeneous and multifaceted, and can present at any age. Clinical features may range from an acute life-threatening metabolic derangement to intermittent or episodic crises with partial recovery to a more gradual progressive neurodevelopmental decline or regression.
Adult-onset mitochondrial disease often presents in subtle ways.
Adult-onset mitochondrial disease is typically a progressive multisystem disorder.
Although adults with mitochondrial disease may present with findings that are characteristic of a typical syndrome, more commonly they do not.
Mitochondrial disease often involves the following systems: central nervous system, peripheral nervous system (peripheral neuropathy), vision and hearing, skeletal muscle problems, heart, gastrointestinal system, endocrine system.
The relevance to ME/CFS is that a portion of people being diagnosed with ME/CFS may actually have difficult to diagnose mitochondrial disease (or a similar metabolic disease that affecting energy production).
Assuming that ME/CFS causes problems with energy production through a different mechanism than a genetic defect (which currently seems like a reasonable hypothesis), it could intensify the negative effects of subtle or subclinical defects in energy production.
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