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White-matter changes associated with a synergetic treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome1.52 MB
Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
White-matter changes associated with a synergetic treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
Fatigue, Vol.13(1), pp.8-18
2025
Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection
Abstract
Objectives
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex and debilitating chronic illness for which there are no well-accepted treatments, aside from some preliminary trials and symptom management strategies, such as low-dose naltrexone and NICE guidelines. A clinician administered a synergistic off-label treatment (SOT) involving spironolactone, colchicine, low-dose naltrexone, and multivitamins to ME/CFS patients, resulting in reported symptom improvement. This study sought to investigate neuroimaging characteristics linked with the treatment.
Methods
A group of treatment-naive patients (N = 8, control) was selected to age – and sex-match eight patients who had received the treatment (SOT). Diffusion-weighted imaging data and clinical measures from the two groups were compared.
Results
Compared to the control group, the SOT group showed reduced depression (Bonferroni corrected P value (PBonf) = .04) and mental deficit symptoms (PBonf = .02). Furthermore, the SOT group at post-treatment showed significantly reduced clinical scores (PBonf < .001) than at the pre-treatment baseline. We also observed higher fractional anisotropy and lower diffusivity measures in various white-matter tracts of the SOT group compared to the control group (Family-wise-error-corrected P value (PFWE) ≤ .05).
Conclusion
These findings provide a first line of evidence for the potential effectiveness of SOT treatment in ME/CFS patients, as indicated by microstructural changes in the brain associated with improved clinical symptoms. Formal randomized controlled trials are required to determine the efficacy of SOT components in treating ME/CFS.
Details
- Title
- White-matter changes associated with a synergetic treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
- Authors
- Abdalla Z. Mohamed (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteJorge do Campo - IBUKI HealthPeter Del Fante - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteRichard Kwiatek - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteVince D. Calhoun - Georgia State UniversityZack Y. Shan - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
- Publication details
- Fatigue, Vol.13(1), pp.8-18
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1080/21641846.2024.2367921
- ISSN
- 2164-1862; 2164-1846
- Copyright note
- © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Grants
- A neurobiology based model of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with advanced neuroimaging, MAS2018F00019, The Mason FoundationA multimodal neuromarker of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, MAS2018F00024, The Mason Foundation
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991049697802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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