Session/Event: Nutritional Care of Hospitalized Patients (Oral 20)

(OR20-03-22) Intracellular Nutritional Biomarker Differences in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Subjects and Healthy Controls

On Demand

Presenting Author(s)

Priya Krishnakumar, PhD

Post Doc Research Associate
Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University
Miami, Florida, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

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Co-Author(s)

CJ

Camila Jaramillo, MS

Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University
SK

Shawn Kurian, MS

Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University
WL

Wendy Levy, MS

Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Department of Nutrition
CM

Cara Milman, MS

Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Department of Nutrition
Nadine Mikati, PhD, RDN, LDN

Associate Professor
Nova Southeastern University
Davie, Florida, United States
FH

Fatma Huffman, PhD, RD

Professor
Florida International University
Miami, Florida, United States
MA

Maria Abreu, PhD

Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University; Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine, Dr Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University; Department of Veterans Affairs, Miami VA Healthcare System, Research Service; South Florida Veterans Affairs for Research and Education, Inc
AC

Amanpreet K. Cheema, PhD

Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University; Department of Nutrition, Dr.Kiran C.Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University; Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University; Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Nova Southeastern University

Objectives: A comparison of the nutritional biomarkers between ME/CFS subjects and healthy controls (HC) was undertaken on secondary data collected from an IRB approved cross-sectional study in ME/CFS patients.

Methods: ME/CFS participants were recruited per the 2018 revised Canadian Clinical Case Definition for ME/CFS along with age matched HCs. Self-reported information on demographics and supplement use was collected, and body mass index calculated. HEI was calculated from Willet FFQ and multiple day 24-hour recall data, and severity of fatigue measured by Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI). Lymphocyte transformation assay by SpectraCell Lab (Houston, TX) was employed for intracellular micronutrient status. A series of two-tailed Mann-Whitney U tests (ɑ= 0.05) were performed for the non-parametric data expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean. All statistical analyses were conducted in IBM SPSS Statistics version 25 (Armonk, NY).

Results: Out of the 21 participants (11 ME/CFS and 10 HC), 82% of ME/CFS and 50% of HC were female. Higher fatigue scores were observed in ME/CFS (16.64 ± 1.36) than HC (10.78 ± 2.14). ME/CFS had better HEI scores (63.36± 13.44) than the HC (38.55±12.29). However, despite better diet quality and supplementation, ME/CFS group showed lower intracellular Vitamin B3 and manganese (Mn) (86.3±2.42 and 53.6±2.81 respectively) but higher calcium (Ca) (57.5±3.55) as compared to HC (97.2± 2.31, 64.5±1.87 and 46.5±0.96 respectively).

Conclusions: The results align with the current literature on indications of mitochondrial dysfunction in ME/CFS. Reduced intracellular vit B3 provides suboptimal production of the NAD(P)(H)-cofactor family, thus affecting mitochondrial function and consequently energy production. The aberration in energy metabolism is compounded by other factors, such as reduced Mn but higher Ca intracellular levels seen in this study indicating disruptions in oxidative stress pathways, resulting in debilitating fatigue experienced by individuals with ME/CFS.

Funding Sources: NSU Presidential Faculty Research and Development Grant