United Kingdom: ME Research UK (MERUK) News

Altered neurometabolite levels in the brains of people with ME/CFS

Kiana Kothe is a PhD student working with Prof. Zack Shan at the University of the Sunshine Coast on an ME Research UK-funded project using magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain neuroinflammation in ME/CFS. Kiana recently presented some of her initial results at the annual conference...
www.meresearch.org.uk www.meresearch.org.uk

Altered neurometabolite levels in the brains of people with ME/CFS​

13 August 2025
Kiana Kothe is a PhD student working with Prof. Zack Shan at the University of the Sunshine Coast on an ME Research UK-funded project using magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain neuroinflammation in ME/CFS.

Kiana recently presented some of her initial results at the annual conference of the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping in June 2025, which was attended by more than 2,000 neuroimaging researchers, and she is currently preparing a research paper reporting her findings. Kiana very kindly recorded a video of her presentation for us, showing her results so far.

In brief, Kiana used previously collected magnetic resonance spectroscopy images to assess levels of a number of neurometabolites in the brains of 48 people with ME/CFS and 52 healthy controls. Neurometabolites are the products of metabolism in the brain, and indicate neural activity.

Of the five metabolites she analysed, levels of two of them were significantly altered in people with ME/CFS compared with healthy controls.

Specifically, glutamine/glutamate concentrations were increased in ME/CFS, while total choline levels were decreased, and these findings suggest the involvement of excitotoxicity (damage to nerve cells), abnormal cellular membrane turnover and neuroinflammatory activation.

In short, these findings provide evidence of neuroinflammation in ME/CFS, and Kiana and the team next plan to track how these neurometabolites change over time while the participants perform cognitive tasks.
 
Chandelier said:

Altered neurometabolite levels in the brains of people with ME/CFS

Kiana Kothe is a PhD student working with Prof. Zack Shan at the University of the Sunshine Coast on an ME Research UK-funded project using magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain neuroinflammation in ME/CFS. Kiana recently presented some of her initial results at the annual conference...
www.meresearch.org.uk www.meresearch.org.uk

Altered neurometabolite levels in the brains of people with ME/CFS​

13 August 2025
Kiana Kothe is a PhD student working with Prof. Zack Shan at the University of the Sunshine Coast on an ME Research UK-funded project using magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain neuroinflammation in ME/CFS.

Kiana recently presented some of her initial results at the annual conference of the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping in June 2025, which was attended by more than 2,000 neuroimaging researchers, and she is currently preparing a research paper reporting her findings. Kiana very kindly recorded a video of her presentation for us, showing her results so far.

In brief, Kiana used previously collected magnetic resonance spectroscopy images to assess levels of a number of neurometabolites in the brains of 48 people with ME/CFS and 52 healthy controls. Neurometabolites are the products of metabolism in the brain, and indicate neural activity.

Of the five metabolites she analysed, levels of two of them were significantly altered in people with ME/CFS compared with healthy controls.

Specifically, glutamine/glutamate concentrations were increased in ME/CFS, while total choline levels were decreased, and these findings suggest the involvement of excitotoxicity (damage to nerve cells), abnormal cellular membrane turnover and neuroinflammatory activation.

In short, these findings provide evidence of neuroinflammation in ME/CFS, and Kiana and the team next plan to track how these neurometabolites change over time while the participants perform cognitive tasks.
Click to expand...
Apologies, if this is a stupid question. But could an elevated glutamine level explain why I responded very badly to taking l-glutamine?
 
ME Research UK and the Daphne Jackson Trust are delighted to announce that they have awarded a Fellowship to Dr Alkisti Manousaki at the University of Leicester, for a project investigating the genetic and cellular clues that may explain why ME/CFS affects more women than men.

This Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowship is jointly funded by ME Research UK and the Medical Research Council. The Daphne Jackson Trust is dedicated to supporting research returners. ME Research UK is a charity which commissions and funds high-quality scientific (biomedical) investigation into the causes, consequences and treatment of ME/CFS.

Read more: https://bit.ly/manousaki001

"It is such a privilege to work with funders like ME Research UK to help people return to their research careers. Our funders make these fellowships possible. When combined with the unique structure, retraining, and mentorship provided by the Daphne Jackson Trust, our funders truly do help transform lives and careers.” Elaine Hunt, Fellowship Officer, The Daphne Jackson Trust

“It is an honour to return to research with the support of ME Research UK, MRC UKRI and the Daphne Jackson Trust. ME/CFS remains a deeply misunderstood condition, and I am passionate about using my skills in genetics and cell biology to uncover answers that could make a real difference for people living with the illness.” Dr Alkisti Manousaki
 
From Facebook:

ME Research UK and the ME Association are excited to announce second-phase funding to advance the development of a diagnostic test for ME/CFS. The new grant has been awarded to Dr Fatima Labeed and Dr Jacqueline Cliff, with the research taking place at Brunel University of London.

This next phase will refine and expand on their initial study exploring electrical differences in blood cells from people with ME/CFS. The investigators plan to test a larger cohort, improve the preparation and processing of samples, and investigate the biological basis of the electrical changes, with the aim of moving closer to a reliable and low-cost diagnostic test.

Read more: https://www.meresearch.org.uk/new-f...-development-of-a-diagnostic-test-for-me-cfs/
 
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Here’s the webpage with more details

New funding to advance the development of a diagnostic test for ME/CFS

ME Research UK and the ME Association are excited to build on our October 2023 partnership, when we jointly funded a 12-month study exploring electrical differences in blood cells from people with ME/CFS. This next phase of funding will refine and expand the initial work, giving us deeper...
www.meresearch.org.uk www.meresearch.org.uk
 
From Facebook:

ME Research UK is delighted to announce that we have awarded funding to Prof. Bhupesh Prusty at Riga Stradins University in Latvia for a project investigating the role of autoimmunity in ME/CFS.

Following on from his previous work, Prof. Prusty will look at the mechanisms through which immunoglobulins from ME/CFS patients can cause dysfunction of the mitochondria (which are responsible for generating energy in cells).

As well as providing a better understanding of the role of autoimmunity in ME/CFS, the findings may also help in the design or selection of suitable treatments for the disease.

Find out more: https://bit.ly/prusty070
 

Objectives​

The researchers will first take immunoglobulin samples from people with ME/CFS and from healthy volunteers, and then culture them for 12 hours with healthy muscle and nerve cells, both of which are known to be affected in the disease.

The human brain is particularly complicated and experiments using single cells do not always reflect this. So immunoglobulins will also be cultured with three-dimensional brain tissue to fully understand the pathogenic processes.

Sequencing methods will be used to assess how the genes of these cells and tissues change their activity level in response to being exposed to the immunoglobulins, which will help to identify which cellular pathways are involved.

Immunoglobulins can have specific protein targets on the cells with which they interact, and a second part of the study is to investigate the exact molecular mechanism by which this interaction occurs.

Proteins will be extracted from a number of different cell types, including muscle, nerve, endothelial and immune cells, and then these proteins will be exposed to the immunoglobulins. Various techniques will be used to identify potential target proteins for the pathogenic immunoglobulins

Potential benefits​

The researchers anticipate that their findings will provide a better understanding of the role of autoimmunity in ME/CFS, and specifically the molecular mechanism by which immunoglobulins can cause mitochondrial dysfunction. This could help in the design or selection of suitable treatments to target this pathway.
 
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