The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defined chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) as unremitting fatigue often accompanied by chronic widespread pain, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance and post-exertion malaise. Last year, the CDC estimated that at least 4 million American adults suffer with CFS. Population based studies of CFS have found at least 25% of people with CFS are either receiving disability or are unemployed. Further, economic impact studies have determined that costs to the U.S. economy are in excess of $20 billion each year. The past 20 years of NIH funded research on CFS has resulted in more than 5000 peer reviewed biomedical publications describing the biology of CFS including infection, genetic polymorphisms and brain metabolism. Research of current CFS investigators is rooted in the two decades of accumulated knowledge. Ongoing research and results can be coordinated in order to expedite control and prevention strategies for CFS. To do this, we are organizing a small, 3-day workshop for 30 scientists at the Banbury Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The Banbury Center meetings are recognized internationally as being among the world's best discussion workshops for a variety of topics ranging from neuroscience to science policy. Investigators funded by the NIH as well as the CFIDS Association of America and conducting research on biomarkers for early detection, objective diagnosis and treatment of CFS will be invited to participate. Domain experts in infectious disease, physiology and neuroscience will be invited to chair sessions and evaluate the work presented by the CFS researchers. There are three objectives to this workshop: 1) to have funded CFS investigators present their latest research, 2) to identify common interests and study synergies and 3) to coordinate CFS-funded investigators into an expanded research network. The anticipated outcome of this meeting is the identification of CFS investigators interested in collaborating in an ongoing CFS research network currently coordinated by the CFIDS Association. This project is directly applicable to the NIH mission """"""""to advance significantly the Nation's capacity to protect and improve health"""""""". This project will describe infectious triggers, gut microbiome, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and altered brain metabolism in CFS and is therefore directly applicable to the missions of NINDS, NIAID, NIAMS and NCCAM.
This workshop titled, """"""""From Infection to Neurometabolism: A Nexus for CFS"""""""" is directly relevant to the NIH mission of protecting and improving health. Researchers investigating biomarkers for early detection, objective diagnosis and treatment of CFS will be brought together to share and discuss their findings. This will lay the foundation for an expanded CFS research network and ultimately evidence-based diagnosis and treatment of CFS.
