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Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Development of myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome: A neurobiological construct
Trond Myhrer
Abstract
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling medical illness with unknown etiology and consequently without causal therapy. In the present study, attempts have been made to outline a neurobiological construct of the development of the medical condition.
ME/CFS patients have been characterized by a high level of activity in the ascending reticular arousal system. This model consists of a kindling phase activating long-term potentiation (LTP) and a neuronal deactivation phase in which crucial neuronal connectivity becomes malfunctioning.
Sustained arousal will likely lead to neuropathological changes in structures implicated in the disease process. Indeed, abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex, dorsal thalamus, and the brainstem are seen in ME/CFS patients. Interestingly, injury in the prefrontal cortex in humans causes incapacitation, a prevalent feature of the illness. Well-established LTP activity can be very hard to terminate, but some anticonvulsant therapies may be efficacious.
Link (Unfunded/unpublished review) [preprint]
http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.35701.90083
Trond Myhrer
Abstract
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling medical illness with unknown etiology and consequently without causal therapy. In the present study, attempts have been made to outline a neurobiological construct of the development of the medical condition.
ME/CFS patients have been characterized by a high level of activity in the ascending reticular arousal system. This model consists of a kindling phase activating long-term potentiation (LTP) and a neuronal deactivation phase in which crucial neuronal connectivity becomes malfunctioning.
Sustained arousal will likely lead to neuropathological changes in structures implicated in the disease process. Indeed, abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex, dorsal thalamus, and the brainstem are seen in ME/CFS patients. Interestingly, injury in the prefrontal cortex in humans causes incapacitation, a prevalent feature of the illness. Well-established LTP activity can be very hard to terminate, but some anticonvulsant therapies may be efficacious.
Link (Unfunded/unpublished review) [preprint]
http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.35701.90083