MAGICAL MEDICINE: HOW TO MAKE AN ILLNESS ... - Invest in ME

1996
173
De Lorenzo et al noted that compared with controls, patients with ME/CFS showed a significant reduction
in all lung function parameters tested (Australia and New Zealand Journal of Medicine 1996:26:4:563‐564).
1998
De Becker et al reported on the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in a cohort of ME/CFS subjects; patients
showed a significant decrease in VC (vital capacity), possibly due to a significant increase of RV (residual
volume) and the authors commented: “These observations can, at least partially, explain the respiratory symptoms
in these patients”. The researchers recorded cough, medical history of allergy, chest tightness, and a
remarkably high incidence of bronchial hyper‐responsiveness, but the major complaint was pronounced
exercise‐induced dyspnoea (Fourth International AACFS Research & Clinical Conference on ME/CFS,
Massachusetts, October 1998).
2002
Farquhar et al studied blood volume in relation to peak oxygen consumption and physical activity:
“….hypovolaemia, through its interaction with central haemodynamics, would contribute to the exercise intolerance
associated with this disorder. We examined blood volume, peak aerobic power, habitual physical activity, fatigue level
and their inter‐relations to understand the physiological basis of this disorder. Patients displayed a trend for a 9%
lower blood volume and had a 35% lower peak oxygen consumption. Peak ventilation was significantly lower in the
patients. In conclusion, individuals with CFS have a significantly lower peak oxygen consumption
compared with controls, indicating that blood volume is a strong physiological correlate of peak oxygen
consumption in patients with CFS” (Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2002:282(1):H66‐H71).
2009
Ravindran, Petrie and Baraniuk observed that CFS subjects complain of shortness of breath; they therefore
assessed dyspnoea associated with five activities of daily living. The sum was the Dyspnoea Score, which
was compared between CFS patients and healthy controls. The MVV% (maximum voluntary ventilation,
which is the total volume of air exhaled during 12 seconds of rapid deep breathing) was significantly higher
for CFS patients than controls, indicating that CFS subjects might exert considerable respiratory effort. The
CFS group also reported higher chest discomfort intensity after the first spirometry series and they also
complained of greater difficulty tolerating the MVV manoeuvre. Borg scores (a measure of breathlessness in
relation to heart rate – see Section 4 below) were higher for CFS patients than controls after both the first and
second sets of spirometry (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology February 2009: S260: Abstracts).
Documented abnormal gene expression in ME/CFS
There are more abnormal genes in ME/CFS than there are in cancer (personal communication from a
research scientist).
There can no longer be any doubt from both US and UK research that in ME/CFS there are proven
abnormalities in numerous genes and that such abnormalities are acquired as a result of interactions with
the environment as opposed to being hereditary.
Gene expression describes the behaviour of certain genes when attacked by an infection or other insult:
some genes become over‐active and produce chemicals that cause symptoms seen in ME/CFS, while other
genes become under‐active or shut down (The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Foundation Newsletter
10, November 2004).