I have a news feed on items dealing with CFS.  Below are interesting notes from scanning the feed:

• Myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome: An infectious disease. [2015]
• Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is associated with pandemic influenza infection, but not with an adjuvanted pandemic influenza vaccine. [2015]

Brain

• “We did not note increased all-cause mortality in people with chronic fatigue syndrome, but our findings show a substantial increase in mortality from suicide.” [2016]
• “The spontaneous brain electrical activities in CFS patients were significantly reduced. The abnormal changes in the cerebral functions were localized at the right frontal and left occipital regions in CFS patients.” [2016] Prior SPECT studies found hypoperfusion (low oxygen) in the brain which may be the cause.
• ” differences between FMS patients and controls in the insula, amygdala, anterior/mid cingulate cortex, superior temporal gyrus, the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex, and lingual gyrus.” [2016]
• ” Our results demonstrate altered functional connectivity of several regions associated with cognitive, affective, memory, and higher cognitive function in ME/CFS patients. Connectivity to memory related brain areas (para-hippocampal gyrus) was correlated with clinical fatigue ratings, providing supporting evidence that brain network abnormalities may contribute to ME/CFS pathogenesis.” [2015]

DNA

• ” Here 442 SNPs were identified as candidates for association with ME/CFS (adjusted P-value<0.05).” [2016]
• Mitochondrial DNA variants correlate with symptoms in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.[2016] “Analysis of mitochondrial genomes in ME/CFS cases indicates that individuals of a certain haplogroup or carrying specific SNPs are more likely to exhibit certain neurological, inflammatory, and/or gastrointestinal symptoms.”
• Maintenance of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in Young CFS Patients Is Associated with the 5-HTTLPR and SNP rs25531 A &gt; G Genotype. [2015]

Supplements And Treatment

• ” Results from this study indicated that supplemental guanidinoacetic acid can positively affect creatine metabolism and work capacity in women with CFS, yet GAA had no effect on main clinical outcomes, such as general fatigue and musculoskeletal soreness.” [2016]  – in other words, better labs, no symptom change.
• “Changes in patients who showed a clinically significant change in faecal Streptococcus after treatment[erythromycin 400 mg b.d. for 6 days] (responders; defined as post-therapy distribution<6%) were compared to participants who did not respond to treatment. In the seven responders, there was a significant increase in actigraphic total sleep time (p=0.028) from baseline to follow up, compared with non-responders…Improved vigour scores were associated with a lower Streptococcus count …  poorer mood was associated with higher Lactobacillus …. Short term antibiotic treatment appears to be insufficient to effect sustainable changes in the gut ecosystem in most CFS participants.” [2015]

Symptoms

• “FM patients had an approximately 1.40-fold risk of dry eye syndrome than those without FM.” [2016]
• “When initiating gate, 23.5% of patients with CFS looked toward the ground compared with only 2.6% of nondisabled controls. After 7 m, subjects were asked to close their eyes, and after another 7 m, they were asked, “How much is 100 minus 7?” Of the patients with CFS, 55.9% stopped walking compared with 5.3% of nondisabled controls” [2015]
• “Upon exercise challenge, there were significant changes in the abundance of major bacterial phyla in the gut in ME/CFS patients not observed in healthy controls. In addition, compared to controls clearance of bacteria from the blood was delayed in ME/CFS patients following exercise.” [2015]
• Increased Vulnerability to Pattern-Related Visual Stress in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. [2015]
• Altered resting-state functional connectivity in women with chronic fatigue syndrome. [2015]
• Reductions in circulating levels of IL-16, IL-7 and VEGF-A in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. [2016]
• Extended B-cell phenotype in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A cross-sectional study. [2015]
• Serum Immune Proteins in Moderate and Severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Patients.[2015]
• Cytokine inhibition in chronic fatigue syndrome patients: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. [2015]
  • Evidence for abnormal cytokine expression in Gulf War Illness: A preliminary analysis of daily immune monitoring data. [2015]
• Frequent IgG subclass and mannose binding lectin deficiency in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. [2015]
• Antibodies to β adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. [2016]
• Longitudinal analysis of immune abnormalities in varying severities of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients. [2015]