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Hypersensitivity
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Patients with ME/CFS can have a range of hypersensitives, which may mild or severe. Hypersensitives recognized in ME/CFS include sensitivity to:
- light (photophobia)
- sound (hyperacusis)
- touch
- foods intolerances
- odor sensitivities
- chemicals, including developing multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)
- vibration sensitivity
Hyperalgesia, which is a greatly increased sensitivity to pain, may also occur.[1]
Symptom recognition[edit | edit source]
Canadian Consensus Criteria[edit | edit source]
Perceptual and sensory disturbances count as one of the Neurological/Cognitive manifestations used for diagnosis, the examples given are: "spatial instability and disorientation and inability to focus vision". Ataxia, muscle weakness and fasciculations are common. There may be overload phenomena: cognitive, sensory–e.g., photophobia and hypersensitivity to noise–and/or emotional overload, which may lead to "crash" periods and/or anxiety."1,2
The following hypersensitivity and sensory symptoms are recognized in Appendix 4:
- hyper-responsiveness to noxious stimuli
- feeling of burning or swelling
- loss of cognitive map
- Altered sense of taste and/or smell[1]
International Consensus Criteria[edit | edit source]
Hypersensitivities are divided into a few main areas, as optimal diagnostic criteria:
- Neurocognitive symptoms:
- Neurosensory and perceptual: e.g. inability to focus vision, sensitivity to light, noise, vibration, odor sensitivities, taste and touch; impaired depth perception.[2]
- Immune, Gastro-intestinal and Genitourinary:
- Sensitivities to food, medications, odors or chemicals.[2]
Allergies[edit | edit source]
Most hypersensitives are not allergies and are mediated by different antibodies, for example a peanut allergy causing anaphylactic shock is a Type I hypersensitivity mediated by the IgE antibody, and is different to a Type IV hypersensitivity such as contact dermitatis caused by poison ivy.[3]
Only Type I hypersensitives are classed as allergies.
Antibodies[edit | edit source]
A number of different antibodies have a role in hypersensitivities, including IgG.[3]
Notable studies[edit | edit source]
See also[edit | edit source]
Learn more[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 Carruthers, Bruce M.; Jain, Anil Kumar; De Meirleir, Kenny L.; Peterson, Daniel L.; Klimas, Nancy G.; Lerner, A. Martin; Bested, Alison C.; Flor-Henry, Pierre; Joshi, Pradip; Powles, A C Peter; Sherkey, Jeffrey A.; van de Sande, Marjorie I. (2003), "Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols" (PDF), Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 11 (2): 7-115, doi:10.1300/J092v11n01_02
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 Carruthers, BM; van de Sande, MI; De Meirleir, KL; Klimas, NG; Broderick, G; Mitchell, T; Staines, D; Powles, ACP; Speight, N; Vallings, R; Bateman, L; Bell, DS; Carlo-Stella, N; Chia, J; Darragh, A; Gerken, A; Jo, D; Lewis, DP; Light, AR; Light, KC; Marshall-Gradisnik, S; McLaren-Howard, J; Mena, I; Miwa, K; Murovska, M; Stevens, SR (2012), Myalgic encephalomyelitis: Adult & Paediatric: International Consensus Primer for Medical Practitioners (PDF), ISBN 978-0-9739335-3-6
- ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 Parker, Nina; Schneegurt, Mark; Tu, Anh-Hue Thi; Lister, Philip; Forster, Brian M. (November 1, 2016). "18.1 Overview of Specific Adaptive Immunity". Microbiology. OpenStax. Houston, Texas. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
