10. Conclusions of some leading doctors in the field

Prof. Anthony Komaroff M.D. of Harvard Medical School has recently written
(1) many patients with ME/CFS have no diagnosable psychiatric disorder and that ME/CFS is not a form of depression; 

(2) there is a state of chronic, low-grade immune activation, with evidence of activated T cells and evidence of genes reflecting immune activation, as well as evidence of increased levels of cytokines; 

(3) there is substantial evidence of poorly-functioning NK cells (white blood cells that are important in fighting viral infections); 

(4) there is evidence of white and grey matter abnormalities in the brain;

(5) there is evidence of abnormalities in brain metabolism (and evidence of dysfunction of energy metabolism in the mitochondria); 

(6) there is evidence of abnormalities in the neuroendocrine system, particularly in the HPA axis but also in the hypothalamic-prolactin axis and in the hypothalamic-growth hormone axis; 

(7) there is evidence of cognitive difficulties, especially with information processing, memory and/or attention; 

(8) there is evidence of abnormalities in the autonomic nervous system (including a failure to maintain blood pressure, abnormal responses of the heart rate, and unusual pooling of blood in the legs, as well as low levels of blood volume); 

(9) there is evidence of disordered gene expression, especially in those genes that are important in energy metabolism and in genes connected to HPA axis activity, to the sympathetic nervous system and to the immune system; 

(10) there is evidence of frequent infection with viruses, especially herpesvirus and enteroviruses.

 Summer 2008 issue of The CFIDS Chronicle published by The CFIDS Association of America, 

Dr Harvey Alter, who discovered the hepatitis C virus, and works in the US National Institutes of Health (one of the top research institutes in the world) said in 2010: “I’m absolutely convinced that when you define this disease by proper criteria, this is a very serious and significant medical disease, and not a psychological disease.  It has the characteristics of a viral disease” 

Professor Luc Montagnier (won the Nobel prize for discovering the AIDS virus) said: “Scientists have already uncovered a lot about ME, but this information does not reach professional healthcare personnel, and the disease is not taken seriously.  It is about time this changes” 

Dr. Paul Levine, M.D. of the National Institutes of Health (USA) writes
"there is general agreement that CFS is a severe debilitating illness that deserves the utmost attention of the clinical and scientific communities."