OMF Canada Triple Giving November logo

 TRIPLE YOUR IMPACT during Triple Giving November | All Donations to OMFCA are TRIPLED through December 2

Donate now for a 3x match
Main Menu
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS) Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia Leading Research. Delivering Hope.Open Medicine Foundation® Canada
Donate
Sign Up

Search for viruses, parasites, and bacteria in ME/CFS

Study Aim

To investigate the prevalence and the characteristics of viruses, parasites, and bacteria in the blood of people with ME/CFS, Long COVID, and related conditions.

Investigators

  • Ron Davis, PhD
  • Wenzhong Xiao, PhD
  • Peidong Shen, PhD
  • Richard Hyman, PhD

Updates and Potential

  • Analysis of blood plasma shows viral infection in ME/CFS at a similar rate to the controls.
  • Viral reactivation occurs in the majority of COVID ICU patients, approximately 93% of 33 patients analyzed.
  • Viral reactivation also occurs in trauma ICU patients.
  • New probes for virus detection are incorporated as soon as they become available.
STUDY HYPOTHESIS AND DESCRIPTION

This project is looking for a consistent presence of viruses (DNA or RNA), parasites, or bacteria in the blood of people with ME/CFS, Long COVID, and related conditions. If found, this persistent presence may explain the majority, if not all, of the symptoms people commonly experience.

This study also investigates the presence and role of viral reactivation following trauma or admittance to the ICU from COVID in ME/CFS pathogenesis.

OBJECTIVES
  • Magnifying glass on a white background with the word VIRUSTo investigate in the blood plasma the prevalence and the characteristics of viral reactivation in ME/CFS and other related conditions.
  • To investigate in the blood plasma the prevalence of a parasite in ME/CFS and other related conditions.
  • To investigate in the blood plasma the prevalence of a bacteria in ME/CFS and other related conditions.

Consent management

Consent Preferences

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.