Intestinal dysbiosis in ME/CFS patients

The microbes that live on and in us provide a host of functions that are essential for our health. Changes in the composition of these microbial communities correlate with a variety of disease states. Results of a new study (link) reveal altered populations of intestinal bacteria and metabolic disturbances in ME/CFS patients. The study subjects were 50 patients with ME/CFS from four sites across the US (meeting 1994 CDC Fukuda and 2003 Canadian consensus criteria) and 50 healthy controls. Some of the ME/CFS patients (21/50) reported a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel syndrome, absent in all the controls. Whether IBS leads to ME/CFS or is a consequence is unclear. Genomic DNA was extracted from a fecal sample from each patient and subjected to high-throughput sequencing. Bacterial sequences were identified after computational subtraction of human genomic, mitochondrial, and ribosomal sequences. The results show that bacterial taxa in ME/CFS patients with and without IBS were distinct. The most reliable markers of ME/CFS with IBS were increased abundance of Alistipes (pictured) and a decrease in Faecalibacterium genera of bacteria. In contrast, an increase in Bacteriodes and a decrease in Bacteroides vulgatus were associated with ME/CFS without IBS. The bacterial genes identified in the sequence analysis were used to predict alterations in metabolic pathways. Some pathways are altered only in ME/CFS patients, while others are linked to IBS. Enrichment in the pathway of vitam...
Source: virology blog - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Commentary Information chronic fatigue syndrome dysbiosis fecal bacteria fecal microbiome mecfs metabolome myalgic encephalomyelitis Source Type: blogs