Julia Newton

Julia L. Newton is a Clinical Professor of Ageing and Medicine at the University of Newcastle in the United Kingdom. She has published a number of ME/CFS studies focusing on autonomic nervous system dysfunction and the role of inflammation in fatigue. She is a member of the UK CFS/ME Collaborative and is the Joint Medical Adviser of the charity Action for ME.

She is Director of the Newcastle Fatigue Research Group and Associate Medical Director for Research for Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Notable studies

 * 2018, Grey and white matter differences in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – A voxel-based morphometry study
 * 2017, What is known about severe and very severe chronic fatigue syndrome? A scoping review
 * 2017, Clinical criteria versus a possible research case definition in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis
 * 2017, Two year follow-up of sleep diaries and polysomnography in chronic fatigue syndrome: a cohort study, Abstract
 * Rethinking childhood adversity in chronic fatigue syndrome "Abstract - Background: Previous studies have consistently shown increased rates of childhood adversity in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). However, such aetiopathogenic studies of CFS are potentially confounded by co-morbidity and misdiagnosis particularly with depression. Purpose: We examined the relationship between rates of childhood adversity using two complimentary approaches (1) a sample of CFS patients who had no lifetime history of depression and (2) a modelling approach. Methods: Childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ) administered to a sample of 52 participants with chronic fatigue syndrome and 19 controls who did not meet criteria for a psychiatric disorder (confirmed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV). Subsequently, Mediation Analysis (Baye’s Rules) was used to establish the risk childhood adversity poses for CFS with and without depression. Results: In a cohort of CFS patients with depression comprehensively excluded, CTQ scores were markedly lower than in all previous studies and, in contrast to these previous studies, not increased compared with healthy controls. Post-hoc analysis showed that CTQ scores correlated with the number of depressive symptoms during the lifetime worst period of low mood. The probability of developing CFS given a history of childhood trauma is 4%, a two-fold increased risk compared to the general population. However, much of this risk is mediated by the concomitant development of major depression. Conclusions: The data suggests that previous studies showing a relationship between childhood adversity and CFS may be attributable to the confounding effects of co-morbid or misdiagnosed depressive disorder."
 * 2016, Understanding Muscle Dysfunction in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
 * 2016, Treatment of insomnia reduces fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome in those able to comply with the intervention, Abstract
 * 2016, Housebound versus nonhousebound patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome"'Abstract - Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome who are confined to their homes due to severe symptomatology. The existing literature fails to address differences between this group, and less severe, nonhousebound patient populations. Methods: Participants completed the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire, a measure of myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome symptomology, and the SF-36, a measure of health impact on physical/mental functioning. ANOVAs and, where appropriate, MANCOVAS were used to compare housebound and nonhousebound patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome across areas of functioning, symptomatology, and illness onset characteristics. Results: Findings indicated that the housebound group represented one quarter of the sample, and were significantly more impaired with regards to physical functioning, bodily pain, vitality, social functioning, fatigue, postexertional malaise, sleep, pain, neurocognitive, autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immune functioning compared to individuals who were not housebound. Discussion: Findings indicated that housebound patients have more impairment on functional and symptom outcomes compared to those who were not housebound. Understanding the differences between housebound and not housebound groups holds implications for physicians and researchers as they develop interventions intended for patients who are most severely affected by this chronic illness.'"
 * 2016, Assessing current functioning as a measure of significant reduction in activity level "Abstract - Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome have case definitions with varying criteria, but almost all criteria require an individual to have a substantial reduction in activity level. Unfortunately, a consensus has not been reached regarding what constitutes substantial reductions. One measure that has been used to measure substantial reduction is the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36). Purpose: The current study examined the relationship between the SF-36, a measure of current functioning, and a self-report measure of the percent reduction in hours spent on activities. Results: Findings indicated that select subscales of the SF-36 accurately measure significant reductions in functioning. Further, this measure significantly differentiates patients from controls. Conclusion: Determining what constitutes a significant reduction in activity is difficult because it is subjective to the individual. However, certain subscales of the SF-36 could provide a uniform way to accurately measure and define substantial reductions in functioning.
 * 2016, The Relationship between Age and Illness Duration in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"'Abstract:Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating illness, but it is unclear if patient age and illness duration might affect symptoms and functioning of patients. In the current study, participants were categorized into four groups based upon age (under or over age 55) and illness duration (more or less than 10 years). The groups were compared on functioning and symptoms. Findings indicated that those who were older with a longer illness duration had significantly higher levels of mental health functioning than those who were younger with a shorter or longer illness duration and the older group with a shorter illness duration. The results suggest that older patients with an illness duration of over 10 years have significantly higher levels of mental health functioning than the three other groups. For symptoms, the younger/longer illness duration group had significantly worse immune and autonomic domains than the older/longer illness group. In addition, the younger patients with a longer illness duration displayed greater autonomic and immune symptoms in comparison to the older group with a longer illness duration. These findings suggest that both age and illness duration need to be considered when trying to understand the influence of these factors on patients."
 * 2016, Reduced cardiac volumes in chronic fatigue syndrome associate with plasma volume but not length of disease: a cohort study
 * 2016, The aetiopathogenesis of fatigue: unpredictable, complex and persistent
 * 2016, A comparative polysomnography analysis of sleep in healthy controls and patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
 * 2016, Case definitions integrating empiric and consensus perspectives
 * 2016, Are Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome different illnesses? A preliminary analysis (FULL TEXT) "Abstract - Considerable discussion has transpired regarding whether chronic fatigue syndrome is a distinct illness from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. A prior study contrasted the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis International Consensus Criteria (ME-ICC; Carruthers et al., 2011) with the Fukuda et al. (1994) CFS criteria and found that the ME-ICC identified a subset of patients with greater functional impairment and physical, mental, and cognitive problems than the larger group who met Fukuda et al. (1994) criteria (Brown et al., 2013). The current study analyzed two discrete data sets and found that the ME-ICC identified more impaired individuals with more severe symptomatology."
 * 2015, Rethinking childhood adversity in chronic fatigue syndrome
 * 2015, Autonomic function in chronic fatigue syndrome with and without painful temporomandibular disorder
 * 2015, Chronic fatigue syndrome versus systemic exertion intolerance disease
 * 2015, Factor Analysis of the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire: Identifying Core Domains (FULL TEXT)
 * 2015, Abnormalities of AMPK Activation and Glucose Uptake in Cultured Skeletal Muscle Cells from Individuals with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0122982 (FULL TEXT)]
 * 2015, Comparing and contrasting consensus versus empirical domains. Abstract
 * 2014, The role of sleep in chronic fatigue syndrome: a narrative review. Abstract
 * 2013, Contrasting chronic fatigue syndrome versus myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Abstract
 * 2012, Impaired cardiac function in chronic fatigue syndrome measured using magnetic resonance cardiac tagging (FULL TEXT)
 * 2011, Loss of capacity to recover from acidosis on repeat exercise in chronic fatigue syndrome: a case–control study

Talks & interviews

 * 2016, What is M E ? (Action for ME)
 * 2015, Standing up for Fatigue - Professor Julia Newton and Professor Jason Ellis (Gresham College)

Talks for Dutch ME/CFS Society

2014, Playlist on YouTube containing:


 * 43. Introduction- experience with ME / Introductie - ervaring met ME - Prof. Dr. Julia Newton
 * 44. Neurocognitive problems in ME / Neuro-cognitieve problemen bij ME - Prof. Dr. Julia Newton
 * 45. ME and the bloodflow / ME en de bloedsomloop - Prof. Dr. Julia Newton
 * 46. The metabolism and the muscles / de spijsvertering en de spieren - Prof. Dr. Julia Newton
 * 47. ME and Sleep / ME en slaap- Prof. Dr. Julia Newton
 * 48. Ageing and ME/ Ouder worden en ME - Prof. Dr. Julia Newton
 * 49. ME and the future / ME en de toekonst - Prof. Dr. Julia Newton

Invest in ME International ME Conferences
 * 2014, Speaker at the 9th Invest in ME International ME Conference DVD available
 * 2008, Speaker at the 3rd Invest in ME International ME Conference on Autonomic Dysfunction: Identification of aetiologically distinct subject groups within ME/CFS DVD available

Learn more

 * 2016, What is ME? with Prof Julia Newton and Dr Gregor Purdie
 * 2015, Inside the UK’s first ‘fatigue clinic’ (BBC Radio 5 Live, 7 December 2015)
 * 2014, Daily Telegraph 17 June 2014: ME: one third of patients 'wrongly diagnosed
 * 2013, Taking Fatigue Seriously – An Interview with Dr. Julia Newton
 * 2013, Times 23 April 2013:Biological breakthrough offers fresh hope for ME sufferers (via the ME Association)

Online presence

 * Newcastle University, Institute of Cellular Medicine: Julia Newton
 * Newcastle Fatigue Research Group
 * PubMed
 * Facebook
 * Email: julia.newton@ncl.ac.uk
 * Address: Clinical Academic Office, Level 6, Leazes Wing, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, United Kingdom