Dikoma Shungu

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Dr Dikoma C. Shunga is a Professor of Physics in Radiology and member of the Center for Enervating NeuroImmune Disease at Cornell University in New York, the United States. His research focuses on developing advanced magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and imaging (MRI) methods to apply in clinical and biomedical research. He has used MRS to measure brain lactic acid, the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) and metabolites in chronic fatigue syndrome.[1]. His work has been funded by the NIH and the Solve ME/CFS Initiative.

ME/CFS research[edit | edit source]

Raised lactic acid and lowered glutathone levels in the brain[edit | edit source]

In a series of three studies, Prof Shungu found high levels of lactic acid in ventricular cerebrospinal fluid and significant correlation between lactic acid levels and the severity of mental fatigue in ME/CFS patients. He later went on to discover levels of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) reduced by 36% in brain tissue[2] and suggested oxidative stress was playing a role in ME/CFS.

Supplementation with N-Acetylcysteine[edit | edit source]

At the 2016 IACFS/ME confernce Dr Shungu presented evidence that supplementing patients with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) raised levels of glutathione in the brains of patients and their symptoms were improved.[3]

In late 2020, Dikoma Shungu registered a randomized clinical trial to determine the effects of NAC supplementation on ME/CFS patients with low glutathione levels, especially investigating any change in glutathione levels and oxidative stress.[4]

Notable studies[edit | edit source]

  • 2022, Plasma metabolomics reveals disrupted response and recovery following maximal exercise in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome[5] - (Full text)
  • 2008, Assessment of GABA and Glutamate/Glutamine at 3.0 T in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Major Depressive Disorder and Healthy Volunteers - (Full text)
  • 2008, Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid lactate is increased in CFS compared with generalized anxiety disorder: an in vivo 3.0 T 1H MRS imaging study[6] - (Full text)
  • 2010, Increased ventricular lactate in CFS measured by 1H MRS imaging at 3.0 T. II: comparison with major depressive disorder[7] - (Full text)
  • 2012, Increased ventricular lactate in chronic fatigue syndrome. III. Relationships to cortical glutathione and clinical symptoms implicate oxidative stress in disorder pathophysiology[2] - (Full text)
  • 2017, Elevations of ventricular lactate levels occur in both chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia[8] - (Full text)
  • 2017, Multimodal and simultaneous assessments of brain and spinal fluid abnormalities in chronic fatigue syndrome and the effects of psychiatric comorbidity[9] - (Full Text)

Online presence[edit | edit source]

Learn more[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Weill Cornell Medical College; Dikoma Shungu
  2. ↑ 2.02.1 Shungu, Dikoma C.; Weiduschat, Nora; Murrough, James W.; Mao, Xiangling; Pillemer, Sarah; Dyke, Jonathan P.; Medow, Marvin S.; Natelson, Benjamin H.; Stewart, Julian M. (September 2012). "Increased ventricular lactate in chronic fatigue syndrome. III. Relationships to cortical glutathione and clinical symptoms implicate oxidative stress in disorder pathophysiology". NMR in biomedicine. 25 (9): 1073–1087. doi:10.1002/nbm.2772. ISSN 0952-3480. PMC 3896084. PMID 22281935.
  3. ↑ Weiduschat, N.; Mao, X.; Vub, D.; Blate, M.; Kang, G.; Mangat, H.S.; Artis, A.; Banerjee, S.; Lange, G.; Henchcliff, C.; Natelson, B.H.; Shungu, D.C. (2016). "N-Acetylcysteine Alleviates Cortical Glutathione Deficit and Improves Symptoms in CFS: An In Vivo Validation Study using Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy". IACFS/ME Syllabus. p. 35. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Assessment of N-Acetylcysteine as Therapy for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrom". clinicaltrials.gov. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  5. ↑ Germain, Arnaud; Giloteaux, Ludovic; Moore, Geoffrey E.; Levine, Susan M.; Chia, John K.; Keller, Betsy A.; Stevens, Jared; Franconi, Carl J.; Mao, Xiangling; Shungu, Dikoma C.; Grimson, Andrew (March 31, 2022). "Plasma metabolomics reveals disrupted response and recovery following maximal exercise in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". JCI Insight. doi:10.1172/jci.insight.157621. ISSN 0021-9738.
  6. ↑ Mathew, Sanjay J.; Mao, Xiangling; Keegan, Kathryn A.; Levine, Susan M.; Smith, Eric L. P.; Heier, Linda A.; Otcheretko, Viktor; Coplan, Jeremy D.; Shungu, Dikoma C. (2009). "Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid lactate is increased in chronic fatigue syndrome compared with generalized anxiety disorder: an in vivo 3.0 T 1H MRS imaging study". NMR in Biomedicine. 22 (3): 251–258. doi:10.1002/nbm.1315. ISSN 1099-1492.
  7. ↑ Murrough, James W.; Mao, Xiangling; Collins, Katherine A.; Kelly, Chris; Andrade, Gizely; Nestadt, Paul; Levine, Susan M.; Mathew, Sanjay J.; Shungu, Dikoma C. (2010). "Increased ventricular lactate in chronic fatigue syndrome measured by 1H MRS imaging at 3.0 T. II: comparison with major depressive disorder". NMR in Biomedicine. 23 (6): 643–650. doi:10.1002/nbm.1512. ISSN 1099-1492.
  8. ↑ Natelson, Benjamin; Vu, Diana; Coplan, JeremyD.; Mao, Xiangling; Blate, Michelle; Kang, Guoxin; Soto, Eli; Tolga Kapusuz, Tolga; Shungu, Dikoma (2017), "Elevations of ventricular lactate levels occur in both chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia", Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior, 5 (1): 15-20, doi:10.1080/21641846.2017.1280114, PMC 5754037, PMID 29308330
  9. ↑ Natelson, Benjamin; Mao, Xiangling; Stegner, Aaron J; Lange, Gudrun; Vu, Diana; Blate, Michelle; Kang, Guoxin; Soto, Eli; Kapusuz, Tolga; Shungu, Dikoma C (2017), "Multimodal and simultaneous assessments of brain and spinal fluid abnormalities in chronic fatigue syndrome and the effects of psychiatric comorbidity", Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 375: 411-416, doi:10.1016/j.jns.2017.02.046

biomedical research basic medical research on organisms, such as humans or other living things, that helps increase medical knowledge. (Learn more: me-pedia.org)

metabolite A chemical compound produced by, or involved in, metabolism. The term is often used to refer to the degradation products of drugs in the body.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

glutamate (Glu) - Glutamate is one of the amino acids used by the body to make proteins. It is a salt or ester of glutamic acid, and the terms glutamate and glutamic acid are often used interchangeably. It also functions as the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.

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