Tronstad et al to investigate "Impaired microcirculation and tissue hypoxia as a possible mechanism in ME/CFS"

Midnattsol

Midnattsol

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Forskningsrådet (The Research Council) has awarded the team at Haukeland 11 million NOK to their research on ME/CFS and energy metabolism :party::party::party:

11 millions awarded the project: Impaired microcirculation and tissue hypoxia as a possible mechanism in ME/CFS

No other info given, it's just a blurb that they are providing 60 million NOK for research into women's health and this is one of the projects that have got funding since ME/CFS is most common in women. I know there is discussion if ME/FS should be called a woman's disease, but right now I am happy for it :)
https://www.forskningsradet.no/nyheter/2023/60-millioner-kroner-til-forskning-pa-kvinnehelse/
 
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Midnattsol said:
Forskningsrådet (The Research Council) has awarded the team at Haukeland 11 million NOK to their research on ME/CFS and energy metabolism :party::party::party:

11 millions awarded the project: Impaired microcirculation and tissue hypoxia as a possible mechanism in ME/CFS

No other info given, it's just a blurb that they are providing 60 million NOK for research into women's health and this is one of the projects that have got funding since ME/CFS is most common in women. I know there is discussion if ME/FS should be called a woman's disease, but right now I am happy for it :)
https://www.forskningsradet.no/nyheter/2023/60-millioner-kroner-til-forskning-pa-kvinnehelse/
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The University in Bergen has written an article about the allocation.

Professor Karl Johan Tronstad comments:
- This allocation means a lot for our research on ME/CFS. The goal for this project is to achieve new knowledge about the mechanisms behind the disease, og to look for biomarkers which hopefully can be used for diagnostics and targeted treatment.

The article also includes a short summary of the project in English:

"Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating disease which usually occurs after an infection, also sometimes in patients with post COVID-19 condition (Long-COVID). The mechanisms of initiation and symptom generation are still unclear, and we are lacking effective biomarkers and treatments. Supported by published and preliminary data, we hypothesize that tissue hypoxia due to impaired microcirculation is a key element that perturbs cellular energy metabolism in the patients. To address this, we will investigate biochemical signatures of hypoxia, and changes in relevant cellular interactions in blood samples from patients and controls. These insights will hopefully provide new understanding about the mechanism of ME/CFS, and possibly reveal novel avenues for future research and clinical applications."


https://www.uib.no/med/164929/uib-får-11-millioner-i-støtte-til-me-forskning
 
Karl Johan Tronstad, Øystein Fluge and Olav Mella have been awarded just short of €1Mio to investigate "Impaired microcirculation and tissue hypoxia as a possible mechanism in ME/CFS".

The project summary is:
"Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating disease which usually occurs after an infection, also sometimes in patients with post COVID-19 condition (Long-COVID). The mechanisms of initiation and symptom generation are still unclear, and we are lacking effective biomarkers and treatments. Supported by published and preliminary data, we hypothesize that tissue hypoxia due to impaired microcirculation is a key element that perturbs cellular energy metabolism in the patients. To address this, we will investigate biochemical signatures of hypoxia, and changes in relevant cellular interactions in blood samples from patients and controls. These insights will hopefully provide new understanding about the mechanism of ME/CFS, and possibly reveal novel avenues for future research and clinical applications."

More information can be found in Norwegian news reports
https://www.uib.no/med/164929/uib-får-11-millioner-i-støtte-til-me-forskning.
 
The Norwegian national broadcaster has an article on the funding, with the ME project having the most space, here the immune system is also brought up:

Happy about funds for ME research
The University of Bergen receives NOK 11 million for research into ME.

Mari Skumsnes from Fitjar was diagnosed with ME in 2015. Then she had waited a year to be admitted for treatment. Today, she is happy that there is more focus on her illness

- I think that is absolutely fantastic. For many years I have hoped that they would get more research funding.

The 33-year-old searches for the words to describe what it means to him. Because of the illness, she has difficulty concentrating.

- I have "brain fog" It makes it a little difficult to put things into words. Low energy level means that I live very quietly and that I have to prioritize hard what I can be involved in.

Women's health is given little priority
- This is a field that has so far received little research funding, says Professor Karl Johan Tronstad at the University of Bergen (UiB).

Tronstad believes that one contributing reason why ME has been little researched is that it largely affects women.

- We see it in other diseases as well. Complex ailments that more women than men get have received less focus and research.

He is pleased that 11 of the 60 million allowed by the government will go to research at UiB. The research project at ME starts in the autumn and will last three years and is a collaboration with Haukeland University Hospital. Their hypothesis is that ME is linked to a fault in the patients' immune system.

- That means a lot. Now we have the chance to find out what is wrong with the patients.

Løyver 60 millionar kroner til forsking på kvinnehelse. – Heilt fantastisk
Allow NOK 60 million for research into women's health. - Absolutely fantastic
 
Something I'm finding odd now is that most of the stories I read about the 60 million in funding, most space has been allocated to the ME project. For other Norwegians who might also see this in the news, do you see the same?

Forskning.no wrote about it today, the headline is "Bergen researchers get millions to study ME", but the article also includes one paragraph each for mental health after sexual assault and a study on why women have more sickleave than men. The ME project makes up the rest of the article, and include an interview with Tronstad where he talks in more detail about the project and ME research. In this interview the topic of autoimmunity is brought up.

Bergen researchers receive millions for ME research

Khrono also has an article that has less about ME, though last time I saw the headline on their website about the funding the title included ME which it doesn't do now. It was something like "ME and mental health after sexual assault" so I'm glad it's been changed since it was a bit misleading. However inside the artice there is the subtitle "ME project", where 4/5 paragraphs is not about ME and one is about the mental health after sexual assault project..

Six projects will share 60 research million
 
Midnattsol said:
Something I'm finding odd now is that most of the stories I read about the 60 million in funding, most space has been allocated to the ME project. For other Norwegians who might also see this in the news, do you see the same?
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Yes. Maybe the Research council has highlighted this due to all the criticism to the LP study that I guess they've also supported?
 
Kalliope said:
Yes. Maybe the Research council has highlighted this due to all the criticism to the LP study that I guess they've also supported?
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They did. Another place LP has been brought up (and was criticized) was in the Women's Health Report by the women's health commission, which is somewhat connected to this funding for projects on women's health.
 
Tronstad was interviewed in an article about different views on ME/CFS (the starting point of the discussion is the "Oslo Fatigue Consortium's statements about how patients can become completely healthy with CBT that we have a discussion on here: Chronic fatigue syndromes: real illnesses that people can recover from, 2023, The Oslo Chronic Fatigue Consortium)

Forskning.no: Folk kan bli friske av ME, long covid og utbrenthet, ifølge 50 forskere og leger
google translation: People can recover from ME, long covid and burnout, according to 50 researchers and doctors

There is one new detail about the microcirculation and hypoxia study:
They will have a long covid control group.

For any discussion on the comments from the Oslo Consortium in the forskning.no article, please go to its own thread where the forskning.no article has also been shared: Chronic fatigue syndromes: real illnesses that people can recover from, 2023, The Oslo Chronic Fatigue Consortium
 
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