James Baraniuk - ME/CFS researcher, Georgetown University

Jonathan Edwards · Mar 14, 2022

New Baraniuk paper on CSF after exercise looks to be coming out

Does anybody know what this is about?

Brain chemistry study shows chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War illness as unique disorders
Eurekalert science news

Was sent by a friendly journalist.

I cannot seem to access it.

Esther12 · Nov 9, 2017

If sent by a journalist, maybe it's currently under embargo?

adreno · Nov 9, 2017

Esther12 said: ↑

If sent by a journalist, maybe it's currently under embargo?
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This part of the URL would suggest so:

emb_releases

Jonathan Edwards · Nov 9, 2017

You mean he's winding me up?!!!

Esther12 · Nov 9, 2017

Jonathan Edwards said: ↑

You mean he's winding me up?!!!
Click to expand...

If he's logged in, he may not have realised that you need a journalist's log in details to access the link.

Jonathan Edwards · Nov 9, 2017

It seems to be a new paper from James Baraniuk - looks interesting. I am trying to find out if I am allowed to say anything public.

Jonathan Edwards · Nov 9, 2017

Apparently it is under embargo maybe until tomorrow so keep an eye out chaps.
James Baraniuk has been looking at CSF after exercise in CFS and his two types of Gulf War Illness and may be finding something interesting. I think James is about the best scientist we have a present so I am hoping this will be something to get our teeth into.

Esther12 · Nov 9, 2017

He signed the open letter raising concerns about PACE... I'm a fan!

http://www.virology.ws/2016/02/10/open-letter-lancet-again/

Barry · Nov 9, 2017

Esther12 said: ↑

If he's logged in, he may not have realised that you need a journalist's log in details to access the link.
Click to expand...

I would think that is much more likely. It's very easy to lose sight of who does and doesn't have access to web/network locations, if it is an area you have access all the time.

Barry · Nov 9, 2017

Jonathan Edwards said: ↑

Apparently it is under embargo maybe until tomorrow so keep an eye out chaps.
James Baraniuk has been looking at CSF after exercise in CFS and his two types of Gulf War Illness and may be finding something interesting. I think James is about the best scientist we have a present so I am hoping this will be something to get our teeth into.
Click to expand...

Very nice. As our shiny new forum gets up to speed, it will be good to get stuck into what we are really about.

Sasha · Nov 9, 2017

Jonathan Edwards said: ↑

I think James is about the best scientist we have a present so I am hoping this will be something to get our teeth into.
Click to expand...

He's not someone I remember reading much about. Here he is:

http://faculty.georgetown.edu/baraniuj/Site/Welcome.html

BurnA · Nov 10, 2017

Sasha said: ↑

He's not someone I remember reading much about. Here he is:
Click to expand...

He spoke at iimec 11 (2016)

Here is what @Mark wrote about it

Professor James Baraniuk returned to IiME with a presentation that was typically provocative, idiosyncratic, and peppered with amusing asides. He started with a look at the historical “drift” of diagnostic criteria in fibrositis (later known as fibromyalgia, and “stripped down” by Wolfe in 1990), benign myalgic encephalomyelitis (later, ME/CFS), and Gulf War Illness.

Baraniuk has suggested before that the distinction between fibromyalgia and ME/CFS is fuzzy at best, and he drew attention to the criteria he still thinks are the best: RM Bennett’s 1981 definition of ‘fibrositis‘.

He also applied his dry humour to the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS), on which, if you score above 16, you’re deemed to be catastrophising – “Thank you, thank you very much.”

The PCS had been applied to fibromyalgia in particular as the diagnostic criteria “drifted,” and he wryly highlighted the downregulated and upregulated genes shown to be associated with high levels of “catastrophising” in fibromyalgia sufferers.

As his slide illustrating the PCS scale “failed to reproduce” very well on the projector, Baraniuk mused: “maybe the fuzziness is telling you something.”

Regarding the name “myalgic encephalomyelitis,” which goes back to epidemics of nurses caring for polio patients, he noted that five epidemics from the 1920s and 1930s had been re-evaluated as hysteria — “an unfortunate link that is a legacy … an asterisk tagged on to the ME name … I can only hope that we do justice to you by re-evaluating this link and getting away from ‘hysteria.’”

He added that it was Carruthers who had brought the title back, and praised his contribution of identifying post-exertional malaise as the key factor, and emphasising autonomic dysfunction. Regarding Gulf War Illness (a major focus of his research), he drew gasps from the audience when he asserted that between 25 and 32% of those deployed are now affected — “if there were a similar attack rate on the House of Commons, maybe there’d be some funding for it” — and described some of the notable chemical exposures suffered by the troops.

Between FM, ME, CFS and GWI, there are a number of overlapping conditions here. Can we separate them, he asked?

Looking at frequency analyses in women of systemic hyperalgesia (the classical diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia: striking tenderness measurable by a significant pain response to a small amount of pressure that would not normally cause pain, and which can now be tracked through to the brain) presented a confusing picture when comparing the distribution of responses in patients with these different diagnoses.

Women with fibromyalgia stood out on the graph, but this was not surprising given that they had been diagnosed on that very basis. Baraniuk had expected that women with CFS would also be very sensitive, but the results here were fairly equivocal in comparison with controls. The one group for whom the measure seemed useful was women with GWI: their pain sensitivity was extreme.

Turning to his own recent research, Baraniuk mentioned his ongoing study of brain MRI before and after a submaximal exercise test.

Their stressor is not enough to see the 15% drop in VO2 max on Day 2, as reported in maximal exercise tests, but it’s enough to see changes in the blood flow in the brain, especially after a cognitive test.

A few more participants are required for the study, and can contact baraniuklab@georgetown.edu if interested — they’ll even throw in a lumbar puncture for free!

About half of the CFS subjects he has tested — and none of the controls — exhibit Baraniuk’s Stress Test Activated Reversible Tachycardia (START): postural tachycardia following exercise challenge.

They are now assessing the details of heart rate variability in this group, but so far they see greater activation of the sympathetic nervous system in this group. They enter “fight or flight” mode just because they stand up.

START is contrasted with STOPP (Stress Test Originated Phantom Pain) in Baraniuk’s terminology … but as he ran out of time, and Dr. Gibson demanded that he “climax,” Baraniuk hastily summarised: the ‘tenderness’ in fibromyalgia may turn out to be an artefact; in Gulf War Illness, it may prove to be more significant; GWI patients have many symptoms distinguishing them from ME patients; and START is telling us that there is something wrong with the brain stem in these patients.
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Kalliope · Nov 10, 2017

Sasha said: ↑

He's not someone I remember reading much about. Here he is:

http://faculty.georgetown.edu/baraniuj/Site/Welcome.html
Click to expand...

Was this one of the researchers portrayed in the documentary Forgotten Plague?

Jonathan Edwards · Nov 10, 2017

Sasha said: ↑

He's not someone I remember reading much about. Here he is:

http://faculty.georgetown.edu/baraniuj/Site/Welcome.html
Click to expand...

James is not a prima donna. He gets on with the work and is prepared to address the difficult questions.

Remember it was James who re-wrote the BMJ clinical guidelines.

Within the research community he is recognised as the wise owl.

Lidia · Nov 10, 2017

And so witty! I have a little crush after reading @Mark’s coverage.

Sasha · Nov 10, 2017

Here's his ME-pedia entry:

http://me-pedia.org/wiki/James_Baraniuk

...which includes a list of his talks and interviews:

2016, 11th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2016 Exercise testing and Orthostatic Tachycardia

2014, 9th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2014 (no speech title given)

2013, Georgetown University to Study Post-Exertional Malaise

2012, 7th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2012 (no speech title given)

2011, 6th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2011 Cerebrospinal Biomarkers for ME/CFS

A bit of catching up to do there...

Kalliope · Nov 10, 2017

Here it is.

EurekaAlert
Brain chemistry study shows chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War illness as unique disorders

- Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have found distinct molecular signatures in two brain disorders long thought to be psychological in origin -- chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and Gulf War Illness (GWI).

Adrian · Nov 10, 2017

From the press release

This study focused on spinal fluid of CFS, GWI and control subjects who agreed to have a lumbar puncture. Spinal taps before exercise showed miRNA levels were the same in all participants. In contrast, miRNA levels in spinal fluid were significantly different after exercise.
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So it looks like a before and after exertion study which I think is exactly what we need in terms of ME and understanding the dynamics of the illness. It maybe that tests require this rather than a static snapshot.

The changes in brain chemistry -- observed in levels of miRNAs that turn protein production on or off -- were seen 24 hours after riding a stationary bike for 25 minutes.

"We clearly see three different patterns in the brain's production of these molecules in the CFS group and the two GWI phenotypes," says Baraniuk. "This news will be well received by patients who suffer from these disorders who are misdiagnosed and instead may be treated for depression or other mental disorders."
Click to expand...

Trish · Nov 10, 2017

This looks like the paper. I have split it into short paragraphs for ease of reading.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-15383-9

Exercise – induced changes in cerebrospinal fluid miRNAs in Gulf War Illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and sedentary control subjects

James N. Baraniuk &

Narayan Shivapurkar

Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 15338 (2017)

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-15383-9

Download Citation

Biomarkers

Fatigue

Received:
07 February 2017
Accepted:
11 October 2017
Published online:
10 November 2017
Abstract

Gulf War Illness (GWI) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) have similar profiles of pain, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and exertional exhaustion.

Post-exertional malaise suggests exercise alters central nervous system functions. Lumbar punctures were performed in GWI, CFS and control subjects after (i) overnight rest (nonexercise) or (ii) submaximal bicycle exercise.

Exercise induced postural tachycardia in one third of GWI subjects (Stress Test Activated Reversible Tachycardia, START).

The remainder were Stress Test Originated Phantom Perception (STOPP) subjects. MicroRNAs (miRNA) in cerebrospinal fluid were amplified by quantitative PCR.

Levels were equivalent between nonexercise GWI (n = 22), CFS (n = 43) and control (n = 22) groups.

After exercise, START (n = 22) had significantly lower miR-22-3p than control (n = 15) and STOPP (n = 42), but higher miR-9-3p than STOPP.

All post-exercise groups had significantly reduced miR-328 and miR-608 compared to nonexercise groups; these may be markers of exercise effects on the brain.

Six miRNAs were significantly elevated and 12 diminished in post-exercise START, STOPP and control compared to nonexercise groups.

CFS had 12 diminished miRNAs after exercise.

Despite symptom overlap of CFS, GWI and other illnesses in their differential diagnosis, exercise-induced miRNA patterns in cerebrospinal fluid indicated distinct mechanisms for post-exertional malaise in CFS and START and STOPPphenotypes of GWI.

Sasha · Nov 10, 2017

I think this needs a new thread from post #17, with the title of the paper as the thread title.

I'm reporting my own post, to ask the mods to split the thread.

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James Baraniuk - ME/CFS researcher, Georgetown University

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