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Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia and Long COVID.

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New Publication from Alain Moreau, PhD, & Colleagues!

New Publication from Alain Moreau, PhD, & Colleagues! 

Evguenia Nepotchatykh and Alain Moreau looking at board

Exciting news! Alain Moreau, PhD, & colleagues have published a study showing the potential to accurately distinguish ME/CFS from Fibromyalgia and comorbid conditions using circulating microRNA expression signatures. 

The publication is entitled, “Circulating microRNA expression signatures accurately discriminate myalgic encephalomyelitis from fibromyalgia and comorbid conditions.” This research is proudly supported by OMF.

Click here to read the full publication! 

Research Summary: 

Dr. Alain Moreau and his team at the OMF supported Collaborative Research Center at CHU Sainte-Justine/Université de Montréal did a study to see if they could tell the difference between two illnesses called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM). 

These two diseases can have similar symptoms and it can be hard to know which one someone has. The scientists looked at 11 special molecules in the blood called miRNAs. (miRNAs have been linked to ME/CFS in past research.) Alain Moreau and colleagues did this study to see if they could find a difference between people with ME/CFS, FM, or both. 

They found that the 11 miRNAs were different in people with ME/CFS, FM, and both diseases. They also made a special test using a computer to see if they could tell which illness someone has just by looking at the miRNAs. They found that it worked and the 11 miRNAs could be used as a test to tell the difference between ME/CFS and FM! It’s important to know which illness someone has so they can get the right treatment.

This means that in the future, doctors can use this information to help diagnose these diseases correctly and give the right treatment to help people feel better.

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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.
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.
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.