José Alegre

José Alegre, also known as José Alegre-Martin, MD, PhD, works in the Internal Medicine Division, CFS/ME Clinical Unit, Vall d ́Hebron University Hospital, Research Institute Vall d’Hebron Campus, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain.

EUROMENE

Dr. Alegre is a Member of the Clinical Research Enablers And Diagnostic Criteria Working Group for EUROMENE, a European Union not-for-profit research organization committed to tackling the cause and treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Notable studies

• 2010, Nitric oxide metabolite production during exercise in chronic fatigue syndrome: a case-control study (Full Text)
• 2013, Screening NK-, B- and T-Cell phenotype and function in patients suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Full Text)
• 2013, Could mitochondrial dysfunction be a differentiating marker between chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia? (Abstract)
• 2014, Impact of the fibromyalgia in the chronic fatigue syndrome (Abstract)
• 2014, Neuropsychological Impairment in Female Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Preliminary Study (Abstract)
• 2015, Does Oral Coenzyme Q10 Plus NADH Supplementation Improve Fatigue and Biochemical Parameters in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
• 2015, Childhood trauma in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: focus on personality disorders and psychopathology (Abstract)
• 2015, Gender Differences in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Full Text)
• 2015, Diagnostic concordance between categorical and dimensional instrument to assess personality in chronic fatigue syndrome: PDQ-4+ and TCI-R (Abstract)
• 2017, Treatment and management of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: all roads lead to Rome (Full Text)
• 2017, Comorbidity in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study (Abstract)
• 2018, Circadian rhythm abnormalities and autonomic dysfunction in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full Text)
• 2018, Poor self‐reported sleep quality and health‐related quality of life in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (Abstract)
• 2018, Circulating extracellular vesicles as potential biomarkers in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: an exploratory pilot study (Full Text)
• 2018, Dimensional Personality Assessment among a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) sample with Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) (Abstract)
• 2018, Prevalence and incidence of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome in Europe—the Euro-epiME study from the European network EUROMENE: a protocol for a systematic review (Full text)
• 2018, Low omega-3 index and polyunsaturated fatty acid status in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Abstract)

Talks and interviews

• 2007, "Bases fisiopatológicas sobre el síndrome de Fatiga Crónica" in Spanish ("Physiopathological basis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome")

Online presence

• PubMed

Learn more

• Curriculum Vitae - José Alegre

See also

• EUROMENE

metabolite A chemical compound produced by, or involved in, metabolism. The term is often used to refer to the degradation products of drugs in the body.

circadian rhythm Physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle, responding mostly to light and dark. Controlled the brain's hypothalamus. (Learn more: www.nigms.nih.gov)

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) - A psychiatric reference book published by the American Psychiatric Association, often referred to as "the psychiatrist's Bible". Although the most recent version (DSM-5) purports to be the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders, the editors of both previous versions of the manual have heavily criticized the current version due to the climate of secrecy that shrouded the development of the latest version. 69% of the people who worked on DSM-5 reported having ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Allen Frances, who headed the development of the previous version, warned of dangerous unintended consequences such as new false 'epidemics'. The British Psychological Society criticized DSM-5 diagnoses as "clearly based largely on social norms, with 'symptoms' that all rely on subjective judgements" and expressed a major concern that "clients and the general public are negatively affected by the continued and continuous medicalisation of their natural and normal responses to their experiences". A petition signed by over 13,000 mental health professionals stated that the lowered diagnostic thresholds in DSM-5, combined with entirely subjective criteria based on western social norms, would "lead to inappropriate medical treatment of vulnerable populations". The director of the US National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Thomas R. Insel, pointed out that the diagnoses in DSM-5 had no scientific validity whatsoever. (Learn more: www.scientificamerican.com)

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

T cell A type of white blood cell which is mostly produced or matured in the thymus gland (hence T-cell) and is involved in the adaptive immune response on a cellular level. Also known as a T lymphocyte. (Learn more: www.youtube.com)

mitochondria Important parts of the biological cell, with each mitochondrion encased within a mitochondrial membrane. Mitochondria are best known for their role in energy production, earning them the nickname "the powerhouse of the cell". Mitochondria also participate in the detection of threats and the response to these threats. One of the responses to threats orchestrated by mitochondria is apoptosis, a cell suicide program used by cells when the threat can not be eliminated.

coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) - Coenzyme Q10 (also known as ubiquinone) is found in the mitochondria and, as a component of the electron transport chain, plays an important role in aerobic respiration. The chemically-reduced form of CoQ10 is called ubiquinol.

extracellular vesicle An extracellular vesicle (sometimes abbreviated EV) is a piece of a cell that has broken off and formed a separate membrane-bound vesicle. A membrane-bound vesicle is like a bubble, or like a mini-cell, in that it has a membrane surrounding some liquid. An extracellular vesicle may also contain some parts of the cell from which the extracellular vesicle arose. There are currently two types of extracellular vesicles: "exosomes" and "microvesicles". An "exosome" is an extracellular vesicle that began inside the cell as an intracellular vesicle known as an "endosome". A "microvesicle" is an extracellular vesicle that begins at the cell surface, and pinches off the cell's own membrane to form a separate vesicle. (Learn more: journals.physiology.org)

extracellular vesicle An extracellular vesicle (sometimes abbreviated EV) is a piece of a cell that has broken off and formed a separate membrane-bound vesicle. A membrane-bound vesicle is like a bubble, or like a mini-cell, in that it has a membrane surrounding some liquid. An extracellular vesicle may also contain some parts of the cell from which the extracellular vesicle arose. There are currently two types of extracellular vesicles: "exosomes" and "microvesicles". An "exosome" is an extracellular vesicle that began inside the cell as an intracellular vesicle known as an "endosome". A "microvesicle" is an extracellular vesicle that begins at the cell surface, and pinches off the cell's own membrane to form a separate vesicle. (Learn more: journals.physiology.org)

BMJ The BMJ (previously the British Medical Journal) is a weekly peer-reviewed medical journal.