Medical Research Council announces ME/CFS research projects worth £1.6m

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Medical Research Council announces

ME/CFS research projects worth £1.6m

by Tony Britton on December 21, 2011

From a UK Medical Research Council press release:

embargoed until 00:01am, 21 December 2011

The Medical Research Council (MRC) has

awarded more than £1.6m for research into

the causes of the debilitating condition

chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic

encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).

The investment will fund five new projects to investigate the

mechanisms and underlying biological processes involved in

the illness, which could eventually lead to better diagnosis

and the development of more effective treatments.

CFS/ME is a complex and debilitating condition that affects

around 250,000 people in the UK , including children.

Symptoms include profound physical and mental fatigue,

muscle and joint pain, disturbed sleep patterns and

concentration and memory problems. The combination and

severity of symptoms varies from patient to patient, making

it a difficult condition to diagnose and treat.

Professor Holgate, Chair of the

MRC’s Population and Systems Medicine

Board, said:

“There is a pressing need to understand the causes of

CFS/ME, and the MRC is delighted to announce substantial

funding to address this. The quality and breadth of the

scientific proposals we received in response to our funding

call exceeded expectations and led to us funding more

studies than we had originally anticipated.

“We’re especially pleased that the five new projects address

many of the priority areas identified by our CFS/ME Expert

Group in collaboration with charities and leading

researchers in the field. We hope the awards will drive

forward the research agenda in this area, paving the way for

new diagnostic tools and treatments.”

Dr Shepherd, member of the MRC

CFS/ME Expert Group and trustee of the ME

Association, which has agreed to provide

£30,000 to co-fund one of the five projects,

said:

“The ME Association is very pleased to learn that the MRC

has followed up the research priorities identified by the

Expert Group and agreed to fund five high-quality studies

that aim to identify important biomedical abnormalities that

may be involved in the underlying cause of CFS/ME.

“The patient community will particularly welcome research

involving biomarkers/biological fingerprints, which could

lead to a diagnostic test, and immune system

abnormalities, which could lead to more effective forms of

treatment.

“The fact that one of the studies is being co-funded by the

charity sector marks a much needed step forward in

co-operation between patients and researchers in this field.

This initiative could be utilised to help fund additional

research involving the priorities not yet covered by this

announcement.”

The MRC has striven to stimulate high quality CFS/ME

research for a number of years. Most recently the specially

constituted MRC CFS/ME Expert Group, which involves

leading researchers in the field and related areas, along with

representatives from two CFS/ME charities, identified six

priority areas where important research questions remained

unanswered.

In February 2011, the MRC issued a £1.5m call for

proposals in these areas, aimed at encouraging fresh

partnerships between established CFS/ME researchers and

those with strong scientific credentials, but new to this field.

The key areas were:

• Nervous system disorders

• Cognitive symptoms

• Fatigue

• Immune dysregulation (eg. through viral infection)

• Pain

• Sleep disorders

In response to the high quality of the applications received,

the MRC decided to provide an extra £150,000 to support

the package of successful projects. The awards range in

total value from £120,000 to £450,000 and the successful

applicants were:

· Dr Wan Ng, Newcastle University

· Professor Newton, Newcastle University

· Professor Anne McArdle, University of Liverpool

· Professor Nutt, Imperial College London

· Dr Carmine Pariante, King’s College London

While the applications addressed most of the priority areas

highlighted in the call, the MRC will announce shortly how it

plans to stimulate research activity in those areas which

were not covered.

Notes to editors

Contact Hannah Isom

Senior press officer, Medical Research Council

T: 0 (out of hours: 07818 428 297)

E: press.office@....

A full list of the five fully-funded programmes is included

below, along with short summaries of the research

proposals.

Identifying the biological fingerprints of

fatigue

Principal investigator: Dr Wan Ng

Institution: Newcastle University

Summary: Researchers will analyse the immune systems of

more than 500 patients with primary Sjögren syndrome – a

chronic condition with similar symptoms to CFS/ME,

including intense fatigue. Scientists will look for immune

system abnormalities in these patients to help them identify

the biological “fingerprints” of fatigue. It is hoped this will

improve their understanding of the mechanisms of fatigue

with a view to developing new treatments. It also offers the

hope of a clinical test for the diagnosis of CFS/ME.

Understanding the pathogenesis of

autonomic dysfunction in chronic fatigue

syndrome and its relationship with cognitive

impairment

Principal investigator: Professor Newton

Institution: Newcastle University

Summary: Researchers will explore what causes

dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system –

characterised by dizziness and light-headedness – present

in up to 90 per cent of CFS/ME sufferers. They will use

functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure

changes in blood flow to the brain and how this relates to

cognition and nervous system dysfunction. The researchers

hope their work will lay the foundations for new diagnostic

tools, a better understanding of nervous system

abnormalities and the development of targeted treatments

aimed at reversing these abnormalities.

Modulation of aberrant mitochondrial function

and cytokine production in skeletal muscle of

patients with CFS by supplementary

polyphenols

Principal investigator: Professor Anne McArdle

Institution: University of Liverpool (joint with the University of

Leeds )

Summary: Scientists will use a newly-developed technique

to study the energy-generating components of muscle cells

(mitochondria). Some studies have suggested that

mitochondria may be dysfunctional in CFS/ME, leading to

an energy deficit. The scientists hope this will help them

learn more about how CFS/ME develops and becomes a

chronic condition.

Can enhancing slow wave sleep SWS

improve daytime function in patients with

CFS?

Principal investigator: Professor Nutt

Institution: Imperial College London

Summary: Researchers will study sleep disturbance – a

core symptom of CFS/ME. Experts in CFS/ME, sleep and

psychopharmacology will use a drug to increase deep

restorative sleep in CFS/ME patients and measure the

effect on their brain function during waking hours. It is hoped

the research will increase their understanding of how sleep

disturbance affects CFS/ME sufferers, with a view to

developing new therapies.

Persistent fatigue induced by interferon-

alpha: a new immunological model for

chronic fatigue syndrome

Principal investigator: Dr Carmine Pariante

Institution: King’s College London

Summary: Researchers will examine the effects of a protein

called interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) on the immune system.

IFN-alpha is produced as a protective response to viral

infection and is commonly used to treat infections such as

hepatitis C. IFN-alpha also induces fatigue and flu-like

symptoms in patients, similar to that experienced by

patients with CFS/ME. The team will follow patients

undergoing IFN-alpha treatment for Hepatitis C over a

number of months to define the biological changes that

occur in relation to the development of fatigue. Their work

could lead to a check-list of blood measures to predict who

will develop CFS/ME, as well as identifying new targets for

therapy.

For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has

improved the health of people in the UK and around the

world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC

invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel

Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for

internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on

making an impact and provides the financial muscle and

scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs,

including one of the first antibiotics penicillin, the structure

of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer.

Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the

major health challenges of the 21st century. www.mrc.ac.uk