UK: News from ME Research UK

I feel in my body like this is happening.

 

If I had my druthers I'd throw one or two other chronic conditions into the mix of that study just posted by @Dolphin , e.g. MS and leprosy.

ETA, Sorry, it was posted by @Andy

 

Jo Cambridge has been working on this screening method for some time. It is a bit like a DecodeME for antibodies - looking across a very wide range then trying to make sure a signal is meaningful.

Unfortunately Jo has been seriously unwell and is only just now getting through that.

 

Very interesting. The rituximab study [B-cell auto-antibodies] was relatively small & the [Fluge & Mella] Daratumumab [plasma cell auto-antibodies] study is very small (6 participants). Would a negative results for Daratumumab e.g. indicate that autoantibodies are not a common
disease mechanism? Still, identifying a rare autoimmune case might give a clue to a more common [non-autoimmune] mechanism. So many questions ---

Good to hear Jo's health has improved.

 

ME Research UK

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ME Research UK is delighted to announce that we have awarded funding to Prof. Simon Carding at the Quadram Institute for a new project investigating the role of gut viruses in ME/CFS.

The researchers plan a comprehensive analysis of the gut virome in people with ME/CFS, to identify signature viruses that might be involved in the development of the disease, and could represent a new biomarker. They will also look at whether they respond to microbiota transplantation therapy.

Read more: https://www.meresearch.org.uk/research/carding-060
More detailed description:
https://www.meresearch.org.uk/research/carding-060-info

 

ME Research UK:
Our autumn issue of Breakthrough magazine is now available to read online and download. It features an overview of all our most recently funded research projects, as well as a feature on the DHSC interim delivery plan, an article from Cort Johnson on the role of small funders like us, and much more. Read it here:
https://www.meresearch.org.uk/research/breakthrough-magazine/

 

ME Research UK – October 2023 e-newsletter

https://www.meresearch.org.uk/me-research-uk-october-2023-e-newsletter/

 

ME Research UK is delighted to announce that we have awarded funding to Dr Zack Shan at the University of the Sunshine Coast for a new study using MRI to assess brain neuroinflammation and the lymphatic system in ME/CFS.

Dr Shan and his colleagues are conducting the world’s first controlled study directly assessing neuroinflammation in the brains of people with ME/CFS. They plan to investigate the characteristics of brain immune cells and the lymphatic network, in order to understand more about the role of neuroinflammation in ME/CFS and whether this might help in the development of evidence-based treatments.

Read more: https://meres.uk/shan062
More detailed description: https://meres.uk/shan062info

 

Tying in with last week's announcement of a new study assessing brain neuroinflammation, Cort Johnson takes a look at some of the ways in which the brain may be involved in ME/CFS, and recent research aiming to explore this further. Read more:

https://www.meresearch.org.uk/is-the-answer-to-me-cfs-in-the-brain/

 

ME Research UK is delighted to announce that we have awarded funding to Dr Jo Nijs at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium, for new PhD-level research exploring the links between mitochondrial function and the autonomic nervous system in ME/CFS.

The team includes Dr Andrea Polli, Dr Jolien Hendrix, and PhD student Jente Van Campenhout, who will compare mitochondrial function between groups of ME/CFS patients divided according to the autonomic symptoms they experience. As well as understanding the disease process better, subgrouping patients could help improve diagnosis and selecting treatments. @paininmotion

Read more: https://bit.ly/nijs004
More detailed description: https://bit.ly/nijs004info

 

Since I posted this, a short explanatory video has been added at the end.
See also

 

From ME Research UK: Today is International Men’s Day. Read more about ME/CFS in men, and the challenges men with the disease face on our website: https://bit.ly/imd2023a

 

Differences between men & women with ME/CFS – what does the evidence say?
19 November 2023
https://www.meresearch.org.uk/differences-between-men-women-with-me-cfs-what-does-the-evidence-say/

 

So interesting to look at the biological findings of differences the between men and women here. I was really interested by Decode MEs results, when they returned the preliminary results showing how the symptom patterns taken from averages diverged so much.

I often wonder too about trans people with ME, of whom there must be a few out there, who’ve taken hormones in either direction, and whether current hormone levels are influencing the progression or remission of ME or not really. Are hormones an ongoing risk or protective factor for the course of disease once you have it, or is it just a matter of certain hormone levels putting you at risk at certain points. My guess is hormones are a significant vulnerability. But perhaps not the most important factor. Otherwise I guess even fewer men would get sick than do. I’m betting hormones can be protective but only to a certain extent.

The CFS questionnaire for testing five mens attitudes is a disappointment. But it is a CFS study so to be expected I guess.

 

ME Research UK

ME Research UK is delighted to announce that we have awarded funding to Dr Douglas Barrett at Leicester University for new PhD-level research exploring visual problems in ME/CFS.

The team includes Dr Claire Hutchinson, Dr David Souto and PhD student Anosha Atlaf, who will conduct various tests of visual sensitivity, selective attention and target detection in ME/CFS patients and healthy control subjects, and measure related markers of behaviour, eye movement and nerve activity. As well as understanding more about the impact of ME/CFS on visual function, the results may provide diagnostic markers of the disease.

Read more: https://www.meresearch.org.uk/research/barrett-phd005

Read a more detailed description: https://www.meresearch.org.uk/research/barrett-phd005-info

 

ME Research UK and Daphne Jackson Trust launch ME/CFS Fellowship

Applications are invited for a three-year Daphne Jackson Fellowship co-sponsored by ME Research UK. The Fellowship is open to talented researchers with a PhD – likely in a life science e.g. biomedical sciences, whole organismal biology, molecular genetics, infection and microbiology, structural biology, biological chemistry, who wish to return to research within a UK university or research institution after a career break of two or more years.

https://www.meresearch.org.uk/me-research-uk-and-daphne-jackson-trust-launch-me-cfs-fellowship/

Chris Ponting on Twitter writes
"I'd be delighted to sponsor a @MEResearchUK and @DaphneJacksonTr #MEcfs Fellowship in @EdinburghUni (closing data 4 March 2024). Please get in touch"