Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
John 11:25
Many of the documented abnormalities involve the central and autonomic nervous systems. In my experience, most sceptics are unaware of the extensive literature citing such abnormalities and become less sceptical upon reading it.
(Professor Anthony Komaroff, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, September 2011)
ME stands for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. It is in reality a multi- system failure, and has been classed by the World Health Organization as a neurological condition since 1969 (reference MICD-10 G93.3). It brings with it a post-exertional malaise, muscle pain and weakness, flu-like symptoms, digestive problems, exhaustion which is not alleviated by rest, as well as many other problems which can vary from person to person. It affects every system and part of the body, including the central and autonomic nervous systems, muscles, and immune, endocrine and digestive systems; it can be fatal.
Many people currently refer to the illness as CFS – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – but this is unfortunate as, firstly, CFS is really an ‘umbrella’ term covering a number of fatigue syndromes and conditions. Secondly, the term CFS does tend to trivialize the illness by giving the impression that fatigue is the only problem faced by those who have it, which is certainly not the case. After all, ‘fatigue’ is a symptom, not an illness, and there are many people for whom chronic fatigue is a problem who do not have ME, such as those with MS or undergoing cancer treatment. ME is definitely not simply the ‘chronic fatigue’ wrongly portrayed as ME by much of the media and, sadly, also by the medical profession.
Research has shown numerous physical biomedical abnormalities in people with ME, including the following:
- Immune system: chronic immune activation and dysfunction, evidence of persistent viral infection, low natural killer cells
- Brain and central nervous system: objective measurement of dysfunction deficits in working memory, concentration, information processing, white and grey matter abnormalities, abnormal neuro- genetic expression
- Endocrine system: impaired activation of the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
- Muscular: structural and biochemical abnormalities, including impaired muscle recovery after exercise
- Heart and circulatory system: hypoperfusion, impaired vascular control, low blood volume
- Others: gastrointestinal dysfunction, including food intolerance; mitochondrial dysfunction, including abnormal mitochondrial associated gene expression
- The following are some of the main symptoms of ME:
- Exhaustion and post-exertional malaise: Exhaustion is a principal symptom of ME, is experienced by all sufferers, and must not previously have been a problem. It is caused by trivially small amounts of exertion – physical or mental – compared with before the onset of the illness. Activity can put someone in bed for days or, if overdone, can cause a major relapse. It produces a post-exertional malaise, accompanied by muscle pain and weakness, that can begin soon after activity or be delayed by as much as seventy-two hours, which can make planning anything very difficult. The exhaustion in ME is severe, disabling and totally unlike that experienced by healthy people. Some have described it as being totally drained of energy and ‘having their plug pulled out’. Unlike normal tiredness, it is not helped by exercise and would be made worse by it.
- Neurological and cognitive problems: such as impairment of concentration and short-term memory; mixing-up of words; difficulty processing information; disturbed, unrefreshing sleep, with a lack of normal, restorative sleep; balance problems; sensory disturbances (e.g. hypersensitivity to light and sound).
- Unpredictable fluctuation of symptoms: from day to day, or within a day. This can mean not feeling tired all the time, but it is common to feel ill all the time! Symptoms can be exacerbated by doing too much and not managing the condition properly.
- Other symptoms include muscle pain (which can be severe) and muscle weakness; multi-joint pain, normally without swelling; clinical/laboratory evidence of viral infection, with sore throats and painful lymph nodes; poor temperature control (sweating or shivering); altered sleep patterns; chest pain (which should be investigated if frequent and/or severe); abnormalities to the heart rate and rhythm, including palpitations; visual disturbances; problems with digestion similar to Irritable Bowel Syndrome; severe migraine-type headaches; and generally feeling unwell.
- ME usually has a sudden onset following a viral illness (e.g. flu, gastroenteritis), but it can also follow the use of pesticides/organophosphates or a vaccination—as in my case.
- For further information about ME, please see the ‘Latest News’ and ‘Medical Articles’ pages on my website On Eagles Wings: A Christian Perspective on ME: www.oneagleswings.me.uk.
- The following charities may also be of help:
- The 25% ME Group, for those with severe ME: www.25megroup.org/
- The TYMES Trust, especially for children and young people with ME: www.tymestrust.org/
- Invest in ME, an independent charity campaigning for biomedical research into ME: www.investinme.org/index.shtml
- To download and read the many articles about ME written by Prof. Malcolm Hooper and Margaret Williams since 1986, please go to www.margaretwilliams.me.
