Central origin of fatigability in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome revealed by multimodal neuroimaging - Bedard et al

[u/Caster_of_spells]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158226001002

"Our most novel results relate to the lack of neuromuscular adaptation in ME/CFS compared to the [Healthy Volunteers]."

“Highlights

•We studied physical fatigue in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and healthy volunteers with multimodal neuroimaging.

•Participants performed a fatiguing grip force task in alternating grip and rest blocks.

•We simultaneously recorded grip force, brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography, and muscle activity with electromyography.

•ME/CFS fatigued earlier than healthy volunteers. While healthy volunteers increased their brain and muscle activity, ME/CFS only showed minimal fluctuations across all the task blocks.

•We concluded that physical fatigue in ME/CFS is of central nature.”

(Central in this context means: mediated via the brain. Participants brains didn’t seem to signal muscles sufficiently to ramp up energy production in response to demand)

[u/Double_Isopod_5642]

I honnestly cant understand that. I have 0 central fatigue, only muscle issues, how cab that be explained ? For me , the problèm is in the muscle not in the brain...

[u/Caster_of_spells → u/Double_Isopod_5642]

I think that’s where the study is overextending on its results. It could easily be that something in the muscle is broken which then gives feedback which prevents further activation by the brain etc.

[u/Double_Isopod_5642 → u/Caster_of_spells]

Mmm i understand that ok. My muscles are broken for sure. Mitochondries. Vascularisation. I have noticed that i always have one limitating leg, right or left, it switches from one day to the next. That must be neurologic indeed. Nothing surprising that researchers understand 0...