Press release on Danish dissertation on mitochondrial dysfunction - defended by Ana C. Gonzalez Ebsen

[Kalliope]

Press release from Aarhus University, Denmark (uploaded by the Danish ME Association).
The press release is both in Danish and English.

Title of dissertation:
Mitocondrial dysfunction in an inborn error of metabolism and in patients with unexplained chronic fatigue.

The aim of this PhD dissertation was to investigate mitochondrial dysfunction in Myalgic Encephalomyelities/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), with fatigue of unknown etiology, and in patients suffering from Multiple Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenation Deficiency (MADD), which is a rare inborn error of mitochondria with known gene defect.

The defence is public and takes place on zoom tomorrow 19.05.2020. To join one can contact PhD student Ebsen by today.

Assessment committee:
Associate Professor Lise Lotte Hansen
Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University

Full Chair Professor Jonas Bergquist
Department of Chemistry, Uppsala University, Sweden

Professor and Chair Chuanzhu Yan
Department of Neurology and Neuromuscular, Center Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, China

https://me-foreningen.dk/wp-content...-N_HCU1Z_uD2uYtygufgaC2nOwSYaWeXO3IfgKmLBH33A

 

[Grigor]

Interesting.

 

[Hutan]

Does anyone know what was found? If anyone knows (presumably now Dr) Ebsen, perhaps they could invite her post on the forum?

 

[Kalliope]

Does anyone know what was found? If anyone knows (presumably now Dr) Ebsen, perhaps they could invite her post on the forum?

I couldn't find anything.. That's odd..

According to Linkedin she's currently working as postdoctoral researcher at Research Unit for Molecular Medicine at Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark since June 2020.

Her email address is listed here, if you'd like to ask her directly.

 

[Hutan]

Thanks @Kalliope, I sent Ana an email but it has bounced. Perhaps it was just for use while a student.

 

[Kalliope]

Thanks @Kalliope, I sent Ana an email but it has bounced. Perhaps it was just for use while a student.

weird..

It's the same email address listed in the overview of staff at her department at the university
https://clin.au.dk/en/research/core-faciliteter/mmfindex/mmfindex/staff-and-students-at-research-unit-for-molecular-medicine/#c73726

ETA: There's also an email address to the institute. Perhaps they'd forward an email to her if you contacted them at clin@au.dk ?

 

[Snow Leopard]

Has anyone read the thesis? Did they find a few patients with this genetic disease (Multiple Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenation Deficiency)?

 

[Hutan]

weird..

Sorry, on checking, I see I had a spelling mistake in the email address. I'm trying again.

 

[Hutan]

I have had a nice reply from Ana. She says that she is finalising her paper and hopes to have it out soon. She says

'what I can already say about my research is that we observe a tendency towards impaired metabolism in ME/CFS patients. This translates into difficulties in producing enough energy for the body to function properly.'

She checked out the forum and replied in response to Snow Leopard's question:

Did they find a few patients with this genetic disease (Multiple Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenation Deficiency)?

I'd like to address one of the questions by "snow leopard" where it is asked if some ME/CFS patients were found to have Multiple Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenation Deficiency (MADD). The answer is no. I used the same methods to investigate cellular mechanisms in both ME/CFS patients and MADD patients. The goal was to investigate if these two diseases had pathological cellular overlaps.

I'm not sure if that was the question you were asking Snow Leopard? But it would seem that a finding of Ana's work is that people with ME/CFS don't have MADD.

I've offered the services of the forum to Ana as she finishes up her paper.

Edit - oh, and asked if the research would be taken further e.g. to a post-covid cohort.