Science AMA Series: I’m Professor Mady Hornig at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Ask Me Anything about chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS)!

Hi, I’m Mady Hornig, a psychiatrist who’s also a neuroimmunologist and epidemiologist. I recently published a paper that identifies distinct immune changes in patients diagnosed with ME/CFS. The findings represent the first robust physical evidence that ME/CFS is a biological illness as opposed to a psychological disorder, and the first evidence that the disease has distinct stages, which could lead to a blood test to diagnose the disease as well as treatment options, including some that are already on the market. (Read more in stories in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.) Our study, which wouldn’t have been possible without the strong support of the ME/CFS community (including through an ongoing crowd-funding campaign), as well as the Chronic Fatigue Initiative of the Hutchins Family Foundation, gives credence to the idea that ME/CFS may reflect an infectious “hit-and-run” event. Patients often report getting sick, sometimes from something as common as in fectious mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus), and never fully recover. Our research suggests that these infections throw a wrench in the immune system’s ability to quiet itself after the acute infection, to return to a homeostatic balance; the immune response becomes like a car stuck in high gear as demonstrated by the elevated cytokine levels found in our study. At the Center for Infection and Immunity, we are continuing to study the ME/CFS immune changes in a more in-depth study. We are also looking for “molecular footprints” of the specific agents that might trigger the diseaseâ€"be they viral, bacterial, or fungal. Update: Here’s a video where I touch on some of the new research findings: http://www.mailman.columbia.edu/news/chronic-fatigue-moves-out-shadows I will be back at 1pm EST (10 am PST, 6 pm UTC) to answer questions, Ask Me Anything! Update: I just logged in. I’m going to start answering questions now. Thanks for all your interest! Update: Here's s ome information on ME/CFS research and funding. The patient driven crowd funding team is The Microbe Discovery Project, their Facebook page is: The Microbe Discovery Project: https://www.facebook.com/microbediscovery?fref=ts and their website is: http://www.microbediscovery.org/. The Chronic Fatigue Initiative at Hutchins Family Foundation: http://cfinitiative.org/. And to give directly to our effort. Update: I have finished answering questions here. Thanks so much for all the excellent questions! And thanks to everyone who joined the conversation here and read the discussion! submitted by Prof_Mady_Hornig [link] [677 comments]