From: Charles Shepherd <charles.c.shepherd(a)BTINTERNET.COM>
Date: January 9, 2011 9:09:06 AM EST
Reply-To: Charles Shepherd <charles.c.shepherd(a)BTINTERNET.COM>
Pathology of Chronic Fatigue Pilot Study of Four Autopsy CasesPlease could you add the
full text of conference presentation abstract to my original posting as some people are
having difficulty in finding it on the MEA website.
Thanks
CS
Pathology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Pilot Study of Four Autopsy Cases
DG O'Donovan1, 2, T Harrower3, S Cader2, LJ Findley2, C Shepherd4, A Chaudhuri2
1Addenbrooke's Hospital Cambridge UK
2Queen's Hospital Romford Essex UK
3Royal Devon & Exeter Hospitals UK
4Honorary Medical Advisor to ME Association UK
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is a disorder characterised by
chronic exercise induced fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, sensory disturbances and often
pain. The aetiology and pathogenesis are not understood.
We report the post mortem pathology of four cases of CFS diagnosed by specialists.
The causes of death were all unnatural and included: suicidal overdose, renal failure
due to lack of food and water, assisted suicide and probable poisoning.
Selected portions of tissue were made available by the various Coroners in the UK and
with the assent of the persons in a qualifying relationship.
The cases were 1 male, and 3 female. Ages (years) M32, F32, F43 & F31.
One case showed a vast excess of corpora amylacea in spinal cord and brain of unknown
significance but Polyglucosan Body Disease was not supported by clinicopathologial review.
No ganglionitis was identified.
One case showed a marked dorsal root ganglionitis and two other cases showed mild excess
of lymphocytes with nodules of nageotte in the dorsal root ganglia.
This raises the hypothesis that dysfunction of the sensory and probably also the
autonomic nervous system may lead to abnormal neural activity eg hyperalgesia &
allodynia rather than anaesthesia and may explain some of the symptoms of CFS / ME such as
pain, hypotension, hyperacusis and photophobia. However, the syndrome may be
heterogeneous.
Nevertheless, the precise relationship of fatigue, which may be either peripheral or
central, to abnormalities in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) needs to be studied.
The differential diagnosis of ganglionitis should be investigated in CFS / ME patients
hence Varicella Zoster, Lyme disease, HIV, Sjogren's disease, paraneoplastic sensory
ganglionopathy should be excluded by appropriate history and tests.
Thorough histopathological study of cases coming to autopsy may help to confirm or
refute the hypothesis, that CFS is a disease process, and whether the symptomatology may
be explained by inflammation of the sensory and autonomic divisions of the PNS.
A specific CFS / ME brain and tissue bank in the UK is proposed.
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