Nitrogen hypothesis

The nitrogen hypothesis or nitrogen metabolism hypothesis of ME/CFS was first proposed by Christopher Armstrong in 2018.

Theory
According to the Open Medicine Foundation, the nitrogen hypothesis states that: "nitrogen-containing by-products of energy production accumulate more readily in the cells of people with ME / CFS, these nitrogen-containing by-products can be damaging to the cells and their process of producing energy".

Evidence
In 2020, the Open Medicine Foundation announced that Christopher Armstrong had been awarded a grant to investigate the nitrogen hypothesis at the Open Medicine Foundation's ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Stanford University, run by the Dr. Ron Davis.

In Aug 2020, the Open Medicine Foundation stated "Armstrong first noted increased usage of amino acids, which contains nitrogen, in the metabolism of people with ME/CFS while working at the University of Melbourne. He was the first to apply metabolomics to the field of ME/CFS, publishing his results in 2015. Metabolomics is the study of small molecules (metabolites) using common standards of detection that enable different studies to be comparative and additive."

Treatment
None has been proposed yet.

Articles and blogs

 * Aug 29, 2020, Grant Awarded to Nitrogen Hypothesis Study: OMF Scientist Receives Grant Funding for ME/CFS Study