Vance Spence

Vance A. Spence, Ph.D., was a Principal Clinical Scientist responsible for vascular services and research. In 1997, he returned from an early retirement due to contracting myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) to become an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University of Dundee, Scotland, with the objective of stimulating research into the cause of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). He is especially interested in the role of inflammation, oxidative stress, and acetylcholine in these illnesses.

Dr Spence helped found and serves as Chairman of ME Research UK, a research group. Additionally, he helped found MERGE, the ME biomedical research charity and serves as Scientific Advisor for the 25 Percent ME Group, a patient group for the severe ME patient.

Talks and Interviews

 * 2014, Speaker at the ME Research UK Stormont Parliament meeting, ‘ME in Northern Ireland: practice and research priorities’; talk title - “The science of ME/CFS: What do we know?”
 * 2007, Speaker at the 2nd Invest in ME International ME Conference; talk title - Biomedical Research into ME/CFS: where does it go from here DVD available
 * 2007, Speaker at the Eighth International IACFSME Conference Agenda on "Inflammation and Arterial Stiffness in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"

Notable Studies

 * 2008, Low-grade inflammation and arterial wave reflection in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome "'Abstract - Some of the symptoms reported by people with CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) are associated with various cardiovascular phenomena. Markers of cardiovascular risk, including inflammation and oxidative stress, have been demonstrated in some patients with CFS, but little is known about the relationship between these and prognostic indicators of cardiovascular risk in this patient group. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between inflammation and oxidative stress and augmentation index, a measure of arterial stiffness, in 41 well-characterized patients with CFS and in 30 healthy subjects. AIx@75 (augmentation index normalized for a heart rate of 75 beats/min) was significantly greater in patients with CFS than in control subjects (22.5±1.7 compared with 13.3±2.3% respectively; P=0.002). Patients with CFS also had significantly increased levels of CRP (C-reactive protein) (2.58±2.91 compared with 1.07±2.16 μg/ml respectively; P<0.01) and 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α isoprostanes (470.7±250.9 compared with 331.1±97.6 pg/ml respectively; P<0.005). In patients with CFS, AIx@75 correlated significantly with logCRP (r=0.507, P=0.001), isoprostanes (r=0.366, P=0.026), oxidized LDL (low-density lipoprotein) (r=0.333, P=0.039) and systolic blood pressure (r=0.371, P=0.017). In a stepwise multiple regression model, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, CRP, tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1, oxidized LDL, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels, isoprostanes, age and gender, AIx@75 was independently associated with logCRP (β=0.385, P=0.006), age (β=0.363, P=0.022) and female gender (β=0.302, P=0.03) in patients with CFS. The combination of increased arterial wave reflection, inflammation and oxidative stress may result in an increased risk of future cardiovascular events. Assessment of arterial wave reflection might be useful for determining cardiovascular risk in this patient group.'"
 * 2005, Oxidative stress levels are raised in chronic fatigue syndrome and are associated with clinical symptoms"'Abstract - The aetiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is unknown; however, recent evidence suggests excessive free radical (FR) generation may be involved. This study investigated for the first time levels of 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α-isoprostanes alongside other plasma markers of oxidative stress in CFS patients and control subjects. Forty-seven patients (18 males, 29 females, mean age 48 [19–63] years) who fulfilled the Centres for Disease Control classification for CFS and 34 healthy volunteers (13 males, 21 females, 46 [19–63] years) were enrolled in the study. The CFS patients were divided into two groups; one group had previously defined cardiovascular (CV) risk factors of obesity and hypertension (group 1) and the second were normotensive and nonobese (group 2). Patients had significantly increased levels of isoprostanes (group 1, P = 0.007; group 2, P = 0.03, unpaired t test compared to controls) and oxidised low-density lipoproteins (group 2, P = 0.02) indicative of a FR attack on lipids. CFS patients also had significantly lower high-density lipoproteins (group 1, P = 0.011; group 2, P = 0.005). CFS symptoms correlated with isoprostane levels, but only in group 2 low CV risk CFS patients (isoprostanes correlated with; total symptom score P = 0.005; joint pain P = 0.002; postexertional malaise P = 0.027, Pearson). This is the first time that raised levels of the gold standard measure of in vivo oxidative stress (isoprostanes) and their association with CFS symptoms have been reported.'"
 * 2004, Peripheral cholinergic function in humans with chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War syndrome and with illness following organophosphate exposure"'Abstract - In the present study, we have investigated whether the peripheral cholinergic abnormalities that we have reported previously [Spence, Khan and Belch (2000) Am. J. Med. 108, 736–739] in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are also present in those with Gulf War syndrome (GWS) and agricultural workers exposed to organophosphate pesticides, where cholinesterase inhibition is specifically implicated. We also looked at whether these abnormalities might be due to a reduction in the activity of cholinesterase expressed on the vascular endothelium. We used laser Doppler imaging to measure the forearm skin blood flow responses to iontophoresis of acetylcholine and of methacholine (which is resistant to breakdown by cholinesterase) in patients with CFS, GWS and those with a history of ill health after definite organophosphate exposure, as well as in matched healthy controls. The response to acetylcholine was significantly higher in patients with CFS than in controls (P=0.029, repeated-measures ANOVA), but was normal in those with GWS and those exposed to organophosphates. The methacholine response was higher than the acetylcholine response in all patient groups except for those with CFS, where there was no difference between the responses. Although there are many clinical similarities between these three illnesses, our results indicate peripheral cholinergic abnormalities in the vascular endothelium of only patients with CFS, suggesting that this syndrome has a different aetiology, which might involve inhibition of vascular cholinesterase.'"
 * 2004, Acetylcholine mediated vasodilatation in the microcirculation of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome "'Abstract - The aetiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remains controversial and a number of hypotheses have been put forward to explain it. Research into the condition is hindered by the considerable heterogeneity seen across patients but several reports have highlighted disturbances to cholinergic mechanisms in terms of central nervous system activity, neuromuscular function and autoantibodies to muscarinic cholinergic receptors. This paper examines an altogether separate function for acetylcholine and that is its role as an important and generalized vasodilator. Most diseases are accompanied by a blunted response to acetylcholine but the opposite is true for CFS. Such sensitivity is normally associated with physical training so the finding in CFS is anomalous and may well be relevant to vascular symptoms that characterise many patients. There are several mechanisms that might lead to ACh endothelial sensitivity in CFS patients and various experiments have been designed to unravel the enigma. These are reported here."