Dr Jonathan Kerr zit tegenwoordig in de St George University in Londen
en is nog steeds bezig met genetisch onderzoek naar ME/CVS.

Hij vond reeds tot 88 genen die verschillen tussen ME’ers en gezonde mensen.
Hij kan de patiënten indelen in 7 subgroepen en bij de zwaarste vond hij 71 van
die 88 genetische abnormaliteiten.
Maar helaas is 't onderzoek nog niet afgerond, ze moeten nu nog verder zoeken
welke van die gen expressies werkelijk specifiek zijn voor ME/CVS zodat er een
betrouwbare bloedtest mee gemaakt kan worden.

En 't spijtige is dat z'n team qua financiering daarvoor moet rekenen opeen kleine charity ipv op royale overheidssteun.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subject: Daily Telegraph article - ME: 'Invisible disease' is now easier to read

ME: 'Invisible disease' is now easier to read

Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 18/03/2008
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

A simple blood test may revolutionise the way we treat patients with ME, reports
Bob Ward
British researchers are close to developing, for the first time, a blood test
and potential drug treatments for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as
chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), following groundbreaking work on its genetic
origins.
ME/CFS affects about one in 200 people, and women sufferers outnumber men by six
to one. It causes a constant feeling of extreme exhaustion and malaise for more
than six months, along with sleep abnormalities, memory and concentration
difficulties and a great deal of pain.
In its most extreme form, the disease leaves sufferers bed-ridden and can even
be fatal.
But patients now have new hope, thanks to research published in the Journal of
Clinical Pathology by Dr Jonathan Kerr of St George's University of London and
his colleagues.
They have identified 88 genes that produce different levels of proteins and
other molecules in ME/CFS sufferers compared with the rest of the population.
Dr Kerr's team carried out a complex analysis of the records of 55 patients and
found that they could be divided into seven sub-types according to the specific
gene combinations found in their white blood cells, and the severity of their
symptoms.
The most acutely affected patients had 71 of the 88 gene abnormalities.
The results of this work should allow better understanding of the causes and
development of the disease. Many of the genes are known to be affected when a
person contracts a virus, a factor which is believed to trigger many cases of
ME/CFS.
Importantly, the researchers also recognised that five of the 88 genes are
targeted by drugs which are already used to treat other diseases.
The team is now investigating whether the faulty genes produce abnormal levels
of proteins that can be detected as minute quantities of "biomarkers" in the
blood of patients.
"If proven to be sensitive and specific indicators of the illness, the discovery
of protein biomarkers could lead to the development of a diagnostic test for
ME/CFS, which would revolutionise our approach to this disease," explains Dr
Kerr.
He will present his results at a conference on ME/CFS biomedical research in
Cambridge in May.
The research may even lead to a change in attitudes to the disease, often
trivialised as "yuppie flu".
Sarah, 31, who was diagnosed with ME/CFS two years ago, says: "The stigma
associated with the disease can sometimes be as much of a problem as the
symptoms.
"Some think that it is 'all in the mind' and can be cured by a good night's
sleep. It can be difficult to get friends and work colleagues to understand just
how difficult it is to live with a disease that is so debilitating but virtually
invisible."
Attitudes among funders of medical research also need to change, says Dr Neil
Abbot, operations director at the charity ME Research UK. "Studies on the
psychological aspects of ME/CFS seem to have vacuumed up attention and funding
at the expense of hard-core biomedical studies," he says.
"Most of the £3 million spent by the Medical Research Council on the illness in
the last six years has gone towards projects on the psychological management of
the disease, while there is evidence that around 30 applications, some from
established biomedical research groups, have not been funded."
The work carried out by Dr Kerr and his colleagues is funded by a small charity,
the CFS Research Foundation, which was set up in 1993 by a group of doctors and
scientists who were concerned about the direction and quality of work on the
disease.
Its director, Anne Faulkner, is optimistic about the search for a cure: "We
believe that this disease can and will be conquered, but it will need the
dedicated work of distinguished research scientists and the determination of
people in the community to bring this about."
Bob Ward has donated the fee for this article to the CFS Research Foundation (
www.cfsrf.com ) and ME Research UK ( www.meresearch.org.uk ). He is former
winner of the Bayer/Telegraph science writer award, judged by a panel that
includes Sir David Attenborough and Adam Hart-Davis, which is now open to
15-year-olds too. The closing date is March 31. See science-writer.co.uk for
details
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/03/18/scime118.xml>\
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/03/18/scime118.xml

best wishes all for the Easter weekend
Jill

Jill Pigott
Patient/Carer Representative
Worcestershire M.E. Support Group
(www.geocities.com/worcsmegroup/)
(01905 455187)