The Clock Was (Is) Ticking: Major Study Suggests ME/CFS is Hit and Run Disorder

The study may ultimately open up possibilities for treating patients with recent onset but provides no possible treatment options at this point for patients who have been sick longer. The  more modest immune deactivation found later in the disorder suggests that the core causes of the disorder are either found elsewhere or were not illuminated by the study.

A major question facing researchers now is finding ways to translate this hit and run immune activation or viral infection into long lasting central nervous system problems. Microglia sensitized by chronic immune activation/kynurenine pathway activity is one possible answer.

Ian Lipkin’s statement that they hope to find important answers in their microbiome study suggests he believes a permanently altered microbiome  could provide an answer to that question.

The Clock Was (Is) Ticking: Major Study Suggests ME/CFS is Hit and Run Disorder