February 24, 2011 
Results suggest both CFS and post Lyme disease syndrome involve central nervous system but are different illnesses
RICHLAND, Wash. - Chronic fatigue syndrome knocks people down with a debilitating fatigue, but researchers have yet to identify an underlying cause. Now, scientists examining the complement of proteins in spinal fluid have found that CFS patients carry a subset of proteins unique to their spinal fluid, compared to healthy volunteers. Included in the subset are proteins implicated in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, supporting the idea that CFS has an underlying neurological cause.
In addition, the team also looked at people who had not fully recovered from Lyme disease after treatment, under the assumption that the 2 conditions are related because they have similar symptoms. Patients with this lingering Lyme disease, known as neurologic post treatment Lyme disease, shared some proteins in common with CFS patients - such as those involved in inflammation. But the 2 illnesses also had sets of proteins unique to each condition. The team, led by Steven E. Schutzer of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, and Richard D. Smith of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, hope the unique proteins can guide future research into the causes and possible treatments of the 2 diseases.
Researchers performed the protein analysis work at EMSL, the DOE's Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab on the PNNL campus.
Read the entire release from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey here.
Reference: Steven E. Schutzer, Thomas E. Angel., Tao Liu., Athena A. Schepmoes, Therese R. Clauss, Joshua N. Adkins, David G. Camp II, Bart K. Holland, Jonas Bergquist, Patricia K. Coyle, Richard D. Smith, Brian A. Fallon, Benjamin H. Natelson, Distinct Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteomes Differentiate Post-Treatment Lyme Disease from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Feb. 23, 2011 PLoS ONE , doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017287.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation's biggest free-standing public health sciences university with in excess of 6,000 students attending the state's 3 medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health on 5 campuses. Annually, there are in excess of 2 million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, which provides a continuum of healthcare services with multiple locations throughout the state.
Tags: Fundamental Science, Health Science, Proteomics
EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, is a national scientific user facility sponsored by the D.O.E.'s Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research plan that is located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. EMSL offers an open, collaborative environment for scientific discovery to researchers around the world. EMSL's technical experts and suite of custom and advanced instruments are unmatched. Its integrated computational and experimental capabilities enable researchers to realize fundamental scientific insights and create new technologies. Follow EMSL on Facebook.
Pacific Northwest National Lab is a D.O.E. Office of Science national Lab where interdisciplinary teams advance science and technology and deliver solutions to America's most intractable problems in energy, the environment and national security. PNNL employs 4,900 staff, has an yearly budget of nearly $1.1 billion, and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965. Follow PNNL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
