I was wondering if ME symptoms could be mapped to specific brain regions, which could then be checked for commonalities. Some ME symptoms might be downstream of other failure modes, so not all would have a direct link. Others might be unmapped. Where does the symptom of lethargy or brainfog originate? Some might, such as hypersensitivity or short-term memory. I was just imagining a map of affected brain regions and finding a common abnormality, such as those regions having a specific type of astrocyte or neuron. I came across this paper: ( https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8069033/ ) which makes clear that there are a vast number of subtypes and regional variations of these cells. Taking a CSF sample and not finding abnormal levels of neurochemicals is meaningless, because the different cells in different regions have very different responses to local levels. Imagine if the majority of PWME feeling brainfog had abnormal oxygen consumption in astrocytes in a specific region of the brain, and hypersensitive eyes had similar abnormalities in a different part of the brain. Just an idea. Maybe someone more familiar with brain function would see a pattern if they thought about it.
