Free Republic

Distinct changes in the immune systems of patients with ME or chronic fatigue syndrome have been found, say scientists. Increased levels of immune molecules called cytokines were found in people during the early stages of the disease, a Columbia University study reported. The US research team, who published their findings in the journal Science Advances, tested blood samples from nearly 300 ME patients and around 350 healthy people. They found specific patterns of immune molecules in patients who had the disease for up to three years. These patients had higher levels of of cytokines, particularly one called interferon gamma, which...

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center report the identification of a new cellular source for an important disease-fighting protein used in the body's earliest response to infection. The protein interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) keeps viruses from replicating and stimulates the immune system to produce other disease-fighting agents. Neutrophils, the newly identified cellular source of the protein, are the major component of the pus that forms around injured tissue. The researchers also report that the neutrophils appear to produce IFN-γ through a new cellular pathway independent of Toll-like receptors (TLRs): the body's early warning system for invasion by pathogens. This finding indicates that...