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Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS) Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia Leading Research. Delivering Hope.Open Medicine Foundation® Canada
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Metabolic Differentiation of ME/CFS Comorbidities IBS and Fibromyalgia

Study AIM

This study will investigate the metabolite signatures of ME/CFS patient stool, urine and blood samples and the impact that comorbidities (IBS and Fibromyalgia) have on these signatures.

LEAD INVESTIGATORS
  • Amber Jaa-Kwee
  • Katherine Huang
  • Benjamin Heng, PhD
  • Neil McGregor, PhD
  • Henry Butt, PhD
  • Paul Gooley, PhD
  • Joshua Johnson, PhD
  • Christopher Armstrong, PhD
Updates and Potential
  • Early analysis indicates that comorbidities do impact profiles and agree with previous metabolic studies on comorbidities.
  • Publications in progress.
STUDY HYPOTHESIS AND DESCRIPTION

In our research, we recognize that people with ME/CFS often have other health issues too, like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and Fibromyalgia. These additional health problems can change the biological data we collect, making it hard to tell what’s caused by ME/CFS alone.

To better understand this, we’re comparing the microbial and metabolic information from stool, blood, and urine samples of ME/CFS patients who also have IBS and Fibromyalgia, with those who don’t have these conditions, and with healthy people without these conditions. This helps us see how these additional health issues affect the biological markers in ME/CFS.

Our goal is to show that when studying ME/CFS, it’s really important to consider these other health conditions too, because they can influence the results. This approach can help us make more accurate comparisons and understand ME/CFS better.

OBJECTIVES

Closeup of a pipette adding red liquid to a test tube.

  1. Produce  a comprehensive metabolic profile of plasma, urine and stool samples to contrast ME/CFS patients and controls.
  2. Establish the potential relationships between gut bacteria, host metabolism and ME/CFS.
  3. Compare 22 ME/CFS with Fibromyalgia and 22 ME/CFS without to determine impact on metabolic signatures.
  4. Compare 22 ME/CFS with IBS and 22 ME/CFS without to determine impact on metabolic signatures.
  5. Cluster ME/CFS patients to assess biases of comorbidities.

Consent management

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Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) Form 

Microvesicles and viral sequencing
Microvesicles are a type of extracellular vesicle that is released from the cell membrane. Vesicles are small, fluid-filled sacs or vacuoles within the body. Sequencing is a technique used to determine the exact sequence of bases (A, C, G, and T) in a DNA (or viral) molecule.
NMR Metabolomics
NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) is an instrument/tool used to perform metabolic studies, metabolic profiling, and metabolomics in biofluids and tissues for more than 40 years using magnetic fields. There is a very close connection between metabolic measurements and NMR. This connection has flourished because of NMR’s many unique strengths for characterizing complex mixtures’ chemical composition.
Proteomics
The large-scale study of proteins, which are large, complex molecules that are required for structure, function, and regulation of the human body's tissues and organs.
Autoantibodies
Antibodies that react with self-molecules and that occur in healthy individuals and are referred to as natural antibodies or autoantibodies.
Extracellular DNA for viral reactivation and Mitochondrial DNA
exDNA (extracellular DNA), exDNA is often secreted actively and is used to perform several tasks, thereby offering an attractive target or tool for biotechnological, medical, environmental, and general microbiological applications. Viruses are intracellular parasites that rely to a significant extent on the host cell for replication. Viral reactivation occurs when an active replication of the viral genome results in a lytic (degradation of the cell) infection characterized by the release of new progeny (descendant) virus particles.
Immune cell profiling
The immune system has many important regulatory roles in disease development and progression. Given the emergence of effective immune therapies, reliable predictors of response are needed. Immune cell profiling determines response by evaluating immune cell populations from treated and untreated samples. For our purposes, we will evaluate the white blood cell response to the viral infection using a process called “Cytof.”
Leukocyte Genomics
A leukocyte is a colorless cell circulating in the blood and body fluids and is involved in counteracting foreign substances and disease. A genome is all genetic material of an organism. Genomics is a biology field focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. Therefore, leukocyte genomics is the study of all genetic material of leukocytes.
Metabolomics
Metabolomics is a way to study metabolism – that is, through measuring amounts of the metabolites (small molecules) produced by our bodies as we convert food into energy and other molecules that our cells need to survive. Metabolomics technology is ‘large-scale,’ meaning that several thousand metabolites can be measured from a single sample of e.g., blood or urine.
Micro RNA
Cells use Micro RNA to control whether a particular gene is making too much, too little or the normal amount of its protein at a particular time.