Kathleen Light

Kathleen C. Light, PhD is a Research Professor of in the department of Anesthesiology in University of Utah School of Medicine. Professor Light (and her husband, Alan Light) are known for their work on post-exertional gene expression after exercise.

Education

 * NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Post-doctoral Fellowship - Cardiovascular Psychophysiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
 * Ph.D. - Life-span Developmental Psychology, Syracuse University
 * M.A. - Life-span Developmental Psychology, Syracuse University
 * A.B. - Psychology, Vassar College

Publications related to ME/CFS

 * 2017, Neural Consequences of Post-Exertion Malaise in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"Abstract: Post exertion malaise is one of the most debilitating aspects of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, yet the neurobiological consequences are largely unexplored. The objective of the study was to determine the neural consequences of acute exercise using functional brain imaging. Fifteen female Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients and 15 healthy female controls completed 30 minutes of submaximal exercise (70% of peak heart rate) on a cycle ergometer. Symptom assessments (e.g. fatigue, pain, mood) and brain imaging data were collected one week prior to and 24 hours following exercise. Functional brain images were obtained during performance of: 1) a fatiguing cognitive task – the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task, 2) a non-fatiguing cognitive task – simple number recognition, and 3) a non-fatiguing motor task – finger tapping. Symptom and exercise data were analyzed using independent samples t-tests. Cognitive performance data were analyzed using mixed-model analysis of variance with repeated measures. Brain responses to fatiguing and non-fatiguing tasks were analyzed using linear mixed effects with cluster-wise (101-voxels) alpha of 0.05. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients reported large symptom changes compared to controls (effect size ≥0.8, p<0.05). Patients and controls had similar physiological responses to exercise (p>0.05). However, patients exercised at significantly lower Watts and reported greater exertion and leg muscle pain (p<0.05). For cognitive performance, a significant Group by Time interaction (p<0.05), demonstrated pre- to post-exercise improvements for controls and worsening for patients. Brain responses to finger tapping did not differ between groups at either time point. During number recognition, controls exhibited greater brain activity (p<0.05) in the posterior cingulate cortex, but only for the pre-exercise scan. For the Paced Serial Auditory Addition Task, there was a significant Group by Time interaction (p<0.05) with patients exhibiting increased brain activity from pre- to post-exercise compared to controls bilaterally for inferior and superior parietal and cingulate cortices. Changes in brain activity were significantly related to symptoms for patients (p<0.05). Acute exercise exacerbated symptoms, impaired cognitive performance and affected brain function in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients. These converging results, linking symptom exacerbation with brain function, provide objective evidence of the detrimental neurophysiological effects of post-exertion malaise."
 * 2016, Iacob, E., Light, A.R., Donaldson, G.W., Okifuji, A., Hughen, R.W., White, A.T., and Light, K.C. (2016) Gene expression factor analysis to differentiate pathways linked to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression in a diverse patient sample. Arthritis Care and Research (Hoboken), Jan;68(1):132-40. doi: 10.1002/acr.22639. PMID: 26097208
 * 2013, Light, K.C., Agarwal, N., Iacob, E., White, A.T., Kinney, A.Y., Vanhaitsma, T.A., Aizad, H., Hughen, R.W., Bateman, L., and Light, A.R. (2013) Differing leukocyte gene expression profiles associated with fatigue in patients with prostate cancer versus chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychoneuroendocrinology, Sep 6. doi:pii: S0306-4530(13)00297-7. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.08.008 [Epub ahead of print
 * 2012, Light AR, Bateman L, Jo D, Hughen RW, Vanhaitsma TA, White AT, Light KC.(2012) Gene expression alterations at baseline and following moderate exercise in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2012 Jan;271(1):64-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2011.02405.x. Epub 2011 Jul 13.
 * 2012, White AT, Light AR, Hughen RW, Vanhaitsma TA, Light KC (2012) Differences in metabolite-detecting, adrenergic, and immune gene expression after moderate exercise in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, patients with multiple sclerosis, and healthy controls. Psychosomatic Medicine.74(1):46-54. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31824152ed. Epub 2011 Dec 30.
 * 2012, Light KC, White AT, Tadler S, Iacob E, Light AR. Genetics and Gene Expression Involving Stress and Distress Pathways in Fibromyalgia with and without Comorbid Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Pain Research and Treatment. 2012:427869. doi: 10.1155/2012/427869
 * 2011, Shin CH, Bateman L, Schlaberg R, Bunker AM, Leonard CJ, Hughen RW, Light AR, Light KC, Singh IR. (2011) Absence of XMRV retrovirus and other murine leukemia virus-related viruses in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Journal of Virology. 2011 Jul;85(14):7195-202. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00693-11.
 * 2011, Albright F, Light K, Light A, Bateman L, Cannon-Albright LA. (2011) Evidence for a heritable predisposition to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. BMC Neurology, 2011 May 27;11:62. doi: 10.1186/1471-2377-11-62.
 * 2010, Light, A.R. Vierck, C.J., and Light, K.C. (2010) Chapter 11: Myalgia and Fatigue—Translation from Mouse Sensory Neurons to Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndromes In: Translational Pain Research – From Mouse to Man, Lawrence Kruger and Alan Light, editors; Taylor and Francis.
 * 2010, White, A.T., Light, A.R., Hughen, R.W., Bateman, L., Martins, T.B., Hill, H.R., and Light, K.C. (2010) Severity of symptom flare after moderate exercise is linked to cytokine activity in chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychophysiology, 47(4):615-24. doi: 10.1111./j.1469-8986.2010.00978.x
 * 2009, Light, A.R., White, A.T., Hughen, R.W., and Light, K.C. (2009) Moderate Exercise Increases Expression for Sensory, Adrenergic, and Immune Genes in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients But Not in Normal Subjects. The Journal of Pain, 10:1099-1112.

Online presence

 * PubMed

Learn more

 * 2014, Sufferers of chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia have hope in new diagnostic tool