ME and CFS Medical Abnormalities – Gut Issues

 

Following is a list of articles about abnormalities in gut issues in ME and CFS.

Links to the more than 1,000 peer-reviewed journal articles are listed on the ME and CFS Medical Abnormalities page of this website.

 

Fragkos KC, Barragry J, Fernando CS, Novelli M, Begent J, Zárate-Lopez N. Severe eosinophilic colitis caused by neuropathic agents in a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome and functional abdominal pain: case report and review of the literature. Z Gastroenterol. 2018 Jun;56(6):573-577. PMID: 29890559

The authors present a case of a young female adult with severe chronic fatigue syndrome, widespread chronic pain, including functional abdominal pain, who developed severe eosinophilic colitis following successive treatments with gabapentin and pregabalin. On both occasions, symptoms manifested as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and eosinophilia and improved upon discontinuation of the medications.

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Morris G, Berk M, Carvalho AF, Caso JR, Sanz Y, Maes M. The Role of Microbiota and Intestinal Permeability in the Pathophysiology of Autoimmune and Neuroimmune Processes with an Emphasis on Inflammatory Bowel Disease Type 1 Diabetes and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Curr Pharm Des. 2016;22(40):6058-6075. PMID: 27634186

Herein we discuss the mechanisms involved in the breakdown of intestinal homeostasis and the development of systemic immune activation and neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of (auto)immune diseases. Data is presented explaining how immune tolerance is maintained and how it may breakdown. The breakdown of immune homeostasis following the development of gut inflammation, caused for example by gut dysbiosis, and the consequent increased intestinal permeability, is increasingly considered to be the ultimate source of the systemic immune activation and T helper 17/T regulatory cell imbalances, and maybe neurological disturbances, seen in autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease. Increased intestinal permeability and translocation of commensal antigens into the systemic circulation is also a likely cause of the severe fatigue and an almost bewildering range of neurocognitive, neuroimaging and overall symptom presentations seen in patients with a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

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Maes M, Leunis JC, Geffard M, Berk M. Evidence for the existence of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) with and without abdominal discomfort (irritable bowel) syndrome. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2014;35(6):445-53. PMID: 25433843

Abdominal discomfort symptoms are characteristic of a subset of patients with ME/CFS. Increased bacterial translocation (leaky gut) is associated with ADS symptoms.

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Lakhan SE, Kirchgessner A. Gut inflammation in chronic fatigue syndrome. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2010 Oct 12;7:79. PMID: 20939923

CFS patients have a variety of gut problems, including mucosal barrier dysfunction (“leaky gut”), an altered mucosal immune system, and presence of various microorganisms related to disease.

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Sheedy JR, Wettenhall RE, Scanlon D, Gooley PR, Lewis DP, McGregor N, Stapleton DI, Butt HL, DE Meirleir KL. Increased d-lactic Acid intestinal bacteria in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. In Vivo. 2009 Jul-Aug;23(4):621-8. PMID: 19567398

CFS patients have abnormal levels of Gram positive facultative anaerobic D-lactic bacteria in their intestinal systems.  This has the potential of explaining some of the symptoms and of serving as a biomarker.

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Frémont M, Metzger K, Rady H, Hulstaert J, De Meirleir K. Detection of herpesviruses and parvovirus B19 in gastric and intestinal mucosa of chronic fatigue syndrome patients. In Vivo. 2009 Mar-Apr;23(2):209-13. PMID: 19414405

CFS patients tend to have a variety of pathogenic viruses colonizing their gastrointestinal tracts; these include parvovirus B19, HHV6, HHV7 and EBV.

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Maes M, Leunis JC. Normalization of leaky gut in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is accompanied by a clinical improvement: effects of age, duration of illness and the translocation of LPS from gram-negative bacteria. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2008 Dec;29(6):902-10. PMID: 19112401

CFS patients have high intestinal permeability, and treatment of this can result in improvements in their condition.

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Maes M, Mihaylova I, Leunis JC. Increased serum IgA and IgM against LPS of enterobacteria in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): indication for the involvement of gram-negative enterobacteria in the etiology of CFS and for the presence of an increased gut-intestinal permeability. J Affect Disord. 2007 Apr;99(1-3):237-40. PMID: 17007934

Prevalences and median values for serum IgA against the LPS of enterobacteria are significantly greater in patients with CFS than in normal volunteers and patients with partial CFS. Serum IgA levels were significantly correlated to the severity of illness.

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Maes M, Coucke F, Leunis JC. Normalization of the increased translocation of endotoxin from gram negative enterobacteria (leaky gut) is accompanied by a remission of chronic fatigue syndrome. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2007 Dec;28(6):739-44. PMID: 18063928

CFS is accompanied by an increased translocation of endotoxins from gram-negative enterobacteria through the gut wall, as demonstrated by increased prevalences and median values for serum IgM and IgA against the endotoxins of gram-negative enterobacteria. This condition can also be described as increased gut permeability or leaky gut. Here, a patient was treated with specific antibiotics and diet to treat gut permeability, as well as intravenous immunoglobins, and went into remissions.

 

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