Medscape: Mast Cell Activation May Underlie Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

[Kalliope]

Miriam Tucker: Mast Cell Activation May Underlie CFS

"ME/CFS is a descriptive diagnosis of a bunch of symptoms, but it says nothing about what's causing the symptoms, which is probably part of the reason it's so hard for it to get recognition. So, the question becomes, What other pathology is driving this illness and making the person feel so ill? I think mast cell activation is one of those drivers, whether cause, effect, or perpetuator, I don't know," internist David Kaufman, MD, who practices in Mountain View, California, told Medscape Medical News.

 

[Trish]

It sounds like MCAS is a fairly new perspective the doctors at the recent summit discussed. Here's the final paragraph of the article.

In Levine's experience, MCAS often manifests in patients being unable to tolerate certain foods or medications. "If we can reduce the mast cell problem, we can facilitate taking other drugs to treat ME/CFS," she said. However, she also cautioned, "It's going to be a subset, not all ME/CFS patients."

 

[Inara]

That's an interesting article, thank you @Kalliope.

 

[Gingergrrl]

I had not seen that article before and thank you for posting it @Kalliope!

 

[Trish]

Discussion on this article continues here:
https://www.s4me.info/threads/artic...n-may-underlie-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.4905/