CFIDS researchers chart their progress

Using an Exercise Challenge to Investigate the Pathophysiology of CFIDS
Dr. Christopher Snell and Dr. Mark Van Ness, professors in the sports sciences department at the University of the Pacific, are examining the physical cognitive responses of CFIDS patients to exercise using multiple assessment strategies aimed at providing a comprehensive picture of the bodily processes involved in the production and supply of energy. Drs. Snell and Van Ness hope that their research results will clarify the biological bases for the symptoms of CFIDS and suggest therapeutic interventions directed at treating the causes of the symptoms rather than merely treating the symptoms themselves.

The researchers have prescreened and recruited 14 patients and controls, completed all exercise testing and collected all pre- and post-exercise data from the study group. In addition to measuring the pre-exercise function as indicated by status of the RNaseL pathway, blood was also collected and processed post-exercise for possible further assessment of immune function.

HERV-K18 as a Risk Factor for CFIDS 
Dr. Brigitte Huber, professor of pathology at Tufts University School of Medicine, has completed the first phase of her study of HERV-K18 as a risk factor for CFIDS. Previous research has shown that EBV infection, as well as exogenous IFN-á, activate transcription of the envelope gene of a human endogenous retrovirus, HERV-K18. This retroviral gene encodes a superantigen, which is a class of proteins that is capable of deregulating the immune system. Dr. Huber hopes that this new research will establish whether a differential distribution of HERV-K18 allele and genotype frequencies exists in CFIDS patients, compared to healthy controls.

Dr. Huber and her research team have collected 100 patient blood samples from a physician in New York. The research team has processed the blood, prepared genomic DNA and tested the samples for feasibility for PCR typing assay. A DNA bank has been generated from the samples, and the group continues to collect additional samples.