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Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction Research

This Harvard study explored the biological changes that occur in the muscles during Post-exertional Malaise (PEM). The Computation Center is now seeking to identify drug targets to prevent PEM.

  • David Systrom, MD
  • Wenzhong Xiao, PhD
  • Preliminary results from healthy aging subjects showed that 2 weeks of bedrest in the older and 2 months of bedrest in the young induced profound changes in gene expression of the muscle.
  • The preliminary results will be compared with the ongoing 2-day CPET study of the muscle biopsies and plasma of ME/CFS patients to identify metabolic dysfunctions in ME/CFS patients. The patient study is ongoing.
  • Collaborations have been established with Ron Davis at Stanford, Maureen Hanson at Cornell, Alain Moreau at Montreal, and Rob Wust at Amsterdam to receive and analyze the samples.
STUDY HYPOTHESIS AND DESCRIPTION

Powerful genomic research tools used to understand cancer and heart disease might also help us understand why people with ME/CFS develop post-exertional malaise (PEM). The way that genes in ME/CFS patients behave differently from those in healthy comparable subjects might give tremendous insight for a biomarker or drug targets to combat PEM and fatigue.

The hypothesis is that the inflammation-related recovery mechanisms become dysfunctional in the ME/CFS disease, and this dysregulation causes delayed muscle recovery after exertional stress.

This hypothesis will be tested by analysing nearly 100 muscle biopsy samples from healthy subjects whose ages, sex, and lifestyles match those of ME/CFS patients as closely as possible. Careful comparison to these samples will be critical to detect subtle differences in the genes responsible for a healthy recovery from muscular exercise.

OBJECTIVES

Illustration of human body in different 3D rotations

  • Muscle biopsy samples will be taken from ME/CFS patients both at rest and eventually during their recovery from mild to moderate muscular stress.
  • Comparisons will be made to healthy volunteers also at rest, during recovery from muscular stress, and during immobilization.
  • Using muscle samples, this study will examine the following:
    • Genomics
    • Proteomics
    • Metabolomics
    • Phospho-proteomics
    • Ultrastructural analysis
    • Mitobiogenetic markers.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS) Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia Leading Research. Delivering Hope.Open Medicine Foundation®

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