A charity family hopes to restart the search for a cause of the mysterious disease known as chronic fatigue syndrome (SFC) by funding around $ 10 million in studies by high-level research groups.
The CFS patients suffer from long-term fatigue and other symptoms such as muscle pain and cognitive problems; the cause is unknown. The New York City-based chronic fatigue Initiative (CFI), funded by the Foundation of the private Hutchins family, announced last Thursday a search for causes and treatments. The initiative plans to spend "the stadium" of $ 10 million over 3-4 years, said Executive Director of the FCI Scott Carlson. That's almost 50% of the $ 6 million per year that the National Institutes of Health ( NIH) spends CFS.
An epidemiological study funded by CFI already underway will draw on the study of health famous nurses and two health professionals study followed for 20 to 30 years Harvard School of Public Health. researchers will identify participants in these studies with CFS files and research their environmental exposures and archived blood samples for risk factors for disease. another CFI program will fund grants CFS exploring possible mechanisms based on assumptions that will be determined by scientific advisors.
the initiative will also launch a new cohort study of 0 patients and 0 controls recruited in centers across the country. Biological samples of the volunteers will be kept at Duke University and Harvard connected to a clinical database. As part of this study, Columbia University hunter Ian Lipkin of viruses and other fetch the samples for at least 20 viruses and other pathogens in the hope of finding a related to CFS.
Carlson Hutchins said the family was interested in CFS research because it is "orphaned" in relation to diseases such as Parkinson's disease, which, like CFS, affects about 1 million Americans. The family has several friends with the disease, he said.
Several characteristics are different initiative previous CFS studies, Carlson said Lipkin-the technology used, the size and the careful characterization of the cohort, the researchers involved, and approach operations. "I do not think anyone has ever taken such a comprehensive approach," he said. If the studies show promising results, the family hope the major foundations will launch in more funding.
A pathogen the study will not be tested is a mouse retrovirus called XMRV. There are two years, a report Science proposed such a link between XMRV and CFS but other groups have been unable finding the virus in CFS patients. Lipkin conducting a large study funded by NIH putative link CFS-XMRV. But that work and studies CFI "are not related in any way," says Carlson. After talking to experts, he said, "the consensus seems to be that the issue of XMRV will be completely covered."
0 Komentar