Christopher Armstrong

Christopher W. Armstrong, is a post doctorate student and a Bio21 Molecular Science & Biotechnology Institute researcher at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia with an interest in the metabolic profile of ME/CFS.

Awards

 * 2016 Ramsay Award Program grant recipient, sponsored by the Solve ME/CFS Initiative for Metabolic Analysis of B-Cell Maturation in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This grant was shared with Geraldine Cambridge, University College London, and Fane Mensah, University College London.

Books

 * 2014, Chapter Five in Advances in Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 66, published by Elsevier; "Metabolism in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome," by Christopher W. Armstrong, [[Neil McGregor | Neil R. McGregor], Henry L. Butt, and Paul R. Gooley]

Notable studies

 * 2017, The association of fecal microbiota and fecal, blood serum and urine metabolites in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome "Abstract - Introduction: The human gut microbiota has the ability to modulate host metabolism. Metabolic profiling of the microbiota and the host biofluids may determine associations significant of a host–microbe relationship. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a long-term disorder of fatigue that is poorly understood, but has been linked to gut problems and altered microbiota. Objectives: Find changes in fecal microbiota and metabolites in ME/CFS and determine their association with blood serum and urine metabolites. Methods: A workflow was developed that correlates microbial counts with fecal, blood serum and urine metabolites quantitated by high-throughput ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The study consists of thirty-four females with ME/CFS (34.9 ± 1.8 SE years old) and twenty-five non-ME/CFS female (33.0 ± 1.6 SE years old). Results: The workflow was validated using the non-ME/CFS cohort where fecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA) were associated with serum and urine metabolites indicative of host metabolism changes enacted by SCFA. In the ME/CFS cohort a decrease in fecal lactate and an increase in fecal butyrate, isovalerate and valerate were observed along with an increase in Clostridium spp. and a decrease in Bacteroides spp. These differences were consistent with an increase in microbial fermentation of fiber and amino acids to produce SCFA in the gut of ME/CFS patients. Decreased fecal amino acids positively correlated with substrates of gluconeogenesis and purine synthesis in the serum of ME/CFS patients. Conclusion: Increased production of SCFA by microbial fermentation in the gut of ME/CFS patients may be associated with deleterious effects on the host energy metabolism
 * 2016, Widespread pain and altered renal function in ME/CFS patients
 * 2015, Metabolic profiling reveals anomalous energy metabolism and oxidative stress pathways in chronic fatigue syndrome patients

Talks & interviews

 * 23 Nov 2016, Inside Story Podcast - "In Melbourne, progress on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"
 * 20 Oct 2016, [[Solve ME/CFS Initiative] Webinar with Christopher Armstrong, on recent metabolomics studies]

Online presence

 * PubMed
 * Twitter
 * Facebook
 * Website
 * YouTube

Learn more

 * Wikipedia
 * Institution