People with chronic fatigue syndrome have fewer intestinal bacteria that produce anti-inflammatory substances. This discovery opens the doors to new treatments.
The gut bacteria of people recently diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) differ from the gut bacteria of healthy people. This indicates that disturbances in the microbiome of the intestinal tract are related to the onset of the disease. This is the conclusion of research by bioinformatician Cheng Guo of Columbia University in New York.
CFS is a chronic condition that affects approximately 17 million people worldwide. Patients suffer from prolonged fatigue, brain fog, pain and gastrointestinal complaints. It is still unclear what causes the disease. Previous research has shown that intestinal flora, genetic predisposition, viral infections and even tiny blood clots can play a role.
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Poop samples
Guo and his team analyzed the gut microbiota of 106 people with the disease and 91 people without the disease. For this he used samples of their faeces. The team found that nine types of microbes were found in different amounts in the two groups. That difference persisted even after the researchers corrected their measurements for age, BMI and gender.
One of the biggest differences was the presence of the bacteria Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. People with CFS had an average of 35 percent less of that bacteria in their stool than people without the condition.
The subjects also completed a questionnaire that charted their fatigue symptoms. When Guo and his colleagues compared the responses with the stool, they found a strong link between decreased amount F. prausnitzii and severity of fatigue. The finding suggests that the bacteria – or rather, a lack of it – plays a role in the development of CFS.
Fatty acids
“Characteristic of this disease is the inflammation that patients endure,” says immunologist Nancy Klimas of Nova Southeastern University in the US state of Florida. Because F. prausnitzii is a major producer of anti-inflammatory compounds, a deficiency of this bacteria may contribute to the inflammation characteristic of CFS, she adds.
Another study, conducted by microbiologist Julia Oh of the Jackson Laboratory in Connecticut, US, pointed to a similar connection. Together with her team, she examined the faeces and associated bacteria in another group of CFS patients. 75 of them had been diagnosed no more than four years ago, while 79 patients had been diagnosed more than ten years ago.
Oh and her colleagues found that only the recently diagnosed group of patients had reduced numbers of bacteria that make the anti-inflammatory compounds, such as F. prausnitzii. The patients who had known they had CFS for a decade or more had a microbiome very similar to that of people without the condition.
It seems that “something happens in the early stages of the disease that changes the gut flora, but then disappears later,” says cell biologist Timothy Sampson of Emory University in Georgia. For example, many people with CFS say their symptoms started after a viral infection, which may have disrupted the microbiome. ‘You can think of it as one hit-and-run‘ adds Sampson.
Supplements
Another explanation can be found in home garden and kitchen remedies. People who have recently been diagnosed with CFS are more likely to try untested treatments, such as nutritional supplements. These can influence the composition of intestinal bacteria, says Klimas. “If the microbiome has changed in a disease, that doesn’t mean it’s contributing to the condition,” adds Sampson.
Even if CFS doesn’t originate in the gut, this discovery could open the door to better treatments. Oh says supplements, poop transplants, and even eating more green vegetables can return gut bacteria to their previous levels. As a result, more anti-inflammatory drugs are produced. That can reduce the inflammation associated with CFS.