Chronic fatigue syndrome 'could be triggered by overactive immune system'

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/17/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-could-be-triggered-by-overactive-immune-system

Chronic fatigue syndrome 'could be triggered by overactive immune system'

Nicola Davis

Mon 17 Dec 2018 06.01 GMT

An overactive immune response appears to be a trigger for persistent fatigue, say researchers in a study that could shed light on the causes of chronic fatigue syndrome. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating long-term condition in which individuals experience exhaustion that is not helped by rest, as well as pain, mental fogginess and trouble with memory and sleep. It is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). Some studies into the condition have suggested the immune system could be involved, with viral infections one potential trigger for CFS.
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Because it is not possible to predict who will get a virus, it is impossible to look at levels of biological molecules before, during and after a potential CFS “trigger” infection.

Experts say they have used a group of people with a different condition as a model to explore how immune response might be linked to persistent fatigue.

Writing in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, Russell and colleagues describe how they recruited 55 patients with a chronic hepatitis C infection. To treat the condition, all were given a six- to 12-month course of injections of interferon alpha, a protein that is produced naturally by the body and stimulates the white blood cells to provoke an immune response. The treatment has previously been linked to a side effect of ongoing fatigue in some patients.

While most patients recovered from hepatitis C, there was also an increase in fatigue during treatment, which reduced when the injections ended.

However, six months after treatment finished, 18 participants remained more fatigued than before treatment began. These patients had slightly higher levels of a protein linked to inflammation, called IL10, in their blood before treatment began, but, after four weeks of treatment, their levels of IL10 and another inflammatory protein called IL6 were twice as high as for those who recovered without persistent fatigue.
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Prof Carmine Pariante, a co-author of the study from King’s College London, said this showed that by the time ongoing fatigue was established, the immune activation was no longer present.
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