TYMES TRUST ALERT 07 September 2010 ====== EVIDENCE OF PERSISTENT INFECTION IN CHILDREN WITH ME New research co-funded by The Young ME Sufferers Trust ====== Today there has been extensive media coverage of pioneering research funded jointly by The Young ME Sufferers Trust and ME Research UK. Our funds were raised by the 2001 Odyssey, a marathon solo horse-ride on a racing stallion from Lulworth Cove, Devon, to Scotland, culminating in a procession up the Royal Mile, Edinburgh. I still recall the fun and games I had getting permission for that! The scientists at Dundee Hospital studied 25 children with ME and 23 healthy children, recruited from across the UK to take part in the research; the healthy children were matched for age, gender and state of puberty in order to draw as valid a comparison as possible. The initial diagnosis of CFS/ME was made by the children's local consultant or paediatrician or general practictioner and was confirmed by the researchers from clinical examination. The study reveals that children with ME show evidence of having an ongoing - or 'persistent' - viral infection. This is potentially a momentous finding. A much greater number of neutrophils - the most common type of white blood cells - were found to be at the end of their life cycle. The high turnover of neutrophils indicates the body's need to fight infection. Samples also contained higher than normal levels of free radicals, molecules which can damage cells, tissues and organs via a process called oxidative stress. Increased oxidative stress can occur when white blood cells are chronically stimulated, for instance, by an infection. The combination of this oxidative stress and the quantity of white blood cells points to ongoing inflammation, a likely response to an infection. The study was published in 'Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine'. In our opinion, the findings have implications for how children with ME are supported. A number of radio and TV programmes covered the study and there were many interviews with Professor Jill Belch and myself, starting early in the morning and continuing throughout the day. I made it clear that the consequences of ME in children must be taken seriously, and emphasised the importance of further virological research, with a view to treatment. Further coverage is expected in the press and media. Children with ME are too often treated with scepticism by the healthcare system, and even denied their right to suitable education and other support. We continue to fight their corner with the resources that our supporters have been kind enough to donate. Jane Colby FRSA Executive Director The Young ME Sufferers Trust PO Box 4347, Stock, Essex, CM4 9TE www.tymestrust.org Tel: 0845 003 9002 ====== READ PREVIOUS ALERTS AND REGISTER FOR FUTURE ONES AT www.tymestrust.org To unsubscribe, send an email via the website Contact Us form. ====== DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE OUR ALERTS? ====== You are welcome to redistribute or reprint this email without seeking our permission provided: 1) you do not abbreviate, add to, or change the text in any way; 2) the authorship information is retained; and 3) www.tymestrust.org is credited as the source. Jane Colby is Executive Director of The Young ME Sufferers Trust. She was a Headteacher for nine years, a member of the government Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on CFS/ME and co-authored ME/CFS In UK Schools, the largest epidemiological study of ME to date. She is a member of the National Association of Educational Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants (now ASPECT), a life member of the National Association of Head Teachers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Copyright (c) 2010 The Young ME Sufferers Trust