#OMFScienceWednesday - collection of the posts

I quite like these small, informative Science Wednesday posts from Open Medicine Foundation and thought it might be nice to have a thread with a collection of them. Starting from last week's post.

If you want to read the previous posts they are gathered here at OMF's website.

What do T cells and B cells do?
B cells produce antibodies to ‘capture’ invading germs. Sometimes they produce autoantibodies that mistakenly also target our own tissues, and some studies suggest this is happening in ME/CFS.

T cells use other methods, including signalling via cytokine production. A subset known as ‘killer’ T cells directly target and eliminate infected cells.

 

Today's #OMFScienceWednesday post:

OMF-funded research: T-cells and molecular immunology

For the next few weeks, we will be describing the research projects that OMF is funding all over the world. The first project is about T cells and molecular immunology of ME/CFS, at the ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Stanford under the direction of Dr. Ron Davis. This project is a collaboration with Stanford professors Dr. Mark Davis, an expert in immunology, and Dr. Lars Steinmetz, an expert in genetics and gene expression. We are hopeful that it will provide a new level of understanding into the immunological basis of ME/CFS.

 

Latest #OMFScienceWednesday post (07.03.2018)
OMF-funded research: diagnostic and drug-screening technology

On this #OMFScienceWednesday we continue our series on research projects that OMF is funding all over the world, with a look at efforts to develop diagnostic and drug-screening technology for ME/CFS. This project is ongoing at the ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Stanford under the direction of Dr. Ron Davis. We are hopeful that the technologies developed by his team will make the diagnosis of ME/CFS faster, easier, and cheaper – and will offer a new way to discover candidate drugs.

 

It is quite discouraging that after more than 1 year they tested only 10 patients. I wonder WHY this was not a priority.

And quite confusing that Dr Davis presented the nano chip more than one year ago as a promising device for drug screening. In fact in PR , Ashley said they were testing at that time around 80 drugs and planned to test all FDA drugs ( with a non validated device ??).

 

I agree, I think we've had some mixed messages. It started off fantastic, great expectations....its like the air has gone out of the balloon since. Where is this Mark Davis video that was recorded before Christmas....surely it's time to release it at this point.....

 

In fairness to Dr. Davis maybe it is a priority, we don't know what constraints he has.


10 seems small alright bit it isn't clear which technology they are talking about, they mention both the nanoneedle and the magnetic levitation device.

Also I would say the focus would be in understanding what the devices do in terms of cell abnormalities would be a priority over repeated testing of patients.

There wouldn't be much use testing hundreds of patients only to discover the test didn't mean anything, or it was uninterpretable.

And if they do understand what the test actually means it could lead to a better understanding of the disease rather than just a diagnostic test.

We will have to wait and see, but I would be fairly sure Davis knows what he is doing. Technology seems to be his thing.

 

Stanford wants me back for another blood draw later this month. So apparently things are moving forward with a new study. That's all I know right now.

 

Today's Science Wednesday post

On this #OMFScienceWednesday we highlight a new project that OMF is funding, which proposes a new metabolic ‘trap’ hypothesis for ME/CFS. This project is just getting started under the direction of Dr. Robert Phair, Chief Science Officer of Integrative Bioinformatics, Inc., an expert in computational modelling of biological processes.

...

The big data study of severely ill ME/CFS patients that we funded identified several genes that carry damaging mutations. Dr. Phair’s hypothesis, based on computational predictions, suggests that some of these mutations may slow down enzymes that process important metabolites required for our energy, brain function, and immune system. If this is true, it could explain some of the symptoms of ME/CFS.

 

Hopefully they will get their tools properly calibrated soon, especially now that they have the cool $5M donation from the pineapple fund.

 

Today's ScienceWednesday post from OMF

On this #OMFScienceWednesday, we present a new project that we are funding that will evaluate the ‘deformability’ of red blood cells as a potential biomarker for ME/CFS.

Red blood cells (RBCs) are the most common cells in the blood. Their main role is to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood, and this role depends in part on their ‘deformability’ / elasticity as they flow through small blood vessels. Alterations in RBC deformability have been associated with inflammation and diseases like sepsis, and some studies suggest that RBC damage occurs in ME/CFS.

These observations along with new technology available for measuring RBC deformability prompted Dr. Ron Davis’ team at Stanford and their collaborators at San Jose State University to examine RBC deformability in ME/CFS.

In some very early data generated by this team, there are indications that RBC deformability is reduced in some ME/CFS patients.

 

I'm not sure this will be a biomarker, though. Simpson 1997 had similar findings but said the RBC changes occurred in other fatiguing illnesses too. So they can help gauge illness duration and fatigue level (the Simpson paper also said RBC shape could be used to decide whether vitamin B12 injections would be efficacious), but I doubt they'll be diagnostic in themselves.

Here's the study: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1997/articles/1997-v12n02-p069.shtml

 

From that study:

As there have been a number of previously reported studies of the red cells in a number of chronic disorders, the observation is not new. Furthermore, the changes in red cell shape populations which occur in ME also occur in other chronic disorders so red cell shape analysis alone is not diagnostic for ME. The observed changes are probably of importance in the pathogenesis of tiredness.

Patients benefit from the results of red cell shape analysis test as it provides evidence of a change which can explain their illness, even if they are unresponsive to treatment. As changes in rheology can be shown to occur in the blood of ME patients, haemorheologic agents which have the potential to improve the flowproperties of blood are recommended as therapeutic agents.
​

He goes on to say that vitamin B12 injections every 10 days or so can temporarily change the blood cells back to a normal shape, but this benefit drops off after about two years.

ETA: He also recommends evening primrose oil.

 

Had my blood drawn at Stanford this past week. I think it was 12 tubes! But the orange juice and Amazon gift card made it all worth it.

The blood was for multiple studies, including a T-cell study (which I assume is the study @Kalliope mentioned above). They also want more info on family history, as both my sister and (probably) father had T-cell related illnesses.

I was surprised to learn a genetic analysis had already been done from the last time I gave blood.

 

I was one of the Aussies who had blood tested by Dr Simpson. My results were that 80% of my RBC were deformed. He was recommending Evening Primrose Oil at the time though it didn’t make any difference to me.

 

Perhaps its time for OMF to retire Facebook for OMFScienceWednesday?

That said it makes me happy they are chasing many leads

 

@JaimeS

 

You can also find all the ScienceWednesday posts here on OMF's website

 

Excellent, thanks.
I was referring to the Facebook data mining however

 

Agree. I joined Elon Musk, with many others, and dumped FB.