Medow, Marvin S, Aggarwal, Arun, Baugham, Ila et al. · Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2013 · DOI
When skin is heated, blood vessels normally dilate to increase blood flow. This study found that people with ME/CFS have lower baseline blood flow in their skin compared to healthy people. When researchers used drugs to reduce harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species (particularly hydrogen peroxide), blood flow improved and the initial blood vessel response to heat increased in ME/CFS patients but not in healthy controls.
This study identifies a potential biological mechanism underlying pain hypersensitivity in ME/CFS: excessive reactive oxygen species may suppress normal nerve-mediated blood vessel responses to heat. If confirmed, this could lead to targeted therapies to reduce pain perception and improve cutaneous blood flow regulation in ME/CFS patients.
This small pilot study does not prove that ROS reduction will clinically improve symptoms or that hydrogen peroxide excess causes ME/CFS pain. The findings are correlative and mechanistic in a limited sample of adolescents; results may not generalize to all ME/CFS populations. Whether these ROS-modulating agents would be safe or effective as treatments requires further investigation.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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