Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine

The Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine (INIM), at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, is led by Nancy Klimas, MD.

Notable people

• Nancy Klimas, Director of INIM and Chair of Clinical Immunology at Nova Southeastern University
• Amanpreet Cheema PhD, Director, Division of Clinical Research [1]
• Irma Rey, MD
• Irina Rozenfeld, DNP, ARNP
• Annette Fornos, MD
• Violetta Rozenfeld, DNP, ARNP
• Mary Ann Fletcher (retired), Schemel Professor for Neuro Immune Medicine
• Fanny Collado, Research Nurse Coordinator and Health Science Specialist

Notable studies

• 2018, Identification of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-associated DNA methylation patterns

Current research

Crowd-sourced ME/CFS Gene Study

Main article: ME/CFS Gene Study

Beginning in 2015, Dr. Klimas has asked patients to provide their genetic data (either via Ancestry.com or 23andMe) to develop a large-scale study to look for patterns and subgroups in the genetics of ME/CFS patients.

ME/CFS Detecting Mycotoxin Subgroup

This is a pilot study to look at mycotoxins (toxic metabolites produced by molds/fungi) in patients with ME/CFS. It aims to:

• find out whether the Environmental Exposure Questionnaire (EEQ) can be used to assess for mycotoxin exposure in ME/CFS patients
• assess if the mycotoxin exposure results in more severe symptoms in ME/CFS patients
• future studies will use the blood samples collected to discover if there is a "specific immune or metabolic dysfunction, or epigenetic changes" related to mycotoxin exposure in ME/CFS patients

Clinical Nutrition Profile for ME/CFS

The Clinical Nutrition Profile (CNP) project aims to create a profile of people with ME/CFS based on nutritional biomarkers, their dietary intake and other clinically relevant data. By investigating nutritional patterns and deficiencies associated with the ME/CFS it could help "identifying disease targets, improving overall organ system function, allowing body to heal and potentially resetting homeostatic function" to improve patient response to current treatments.

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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.

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

mycotoxin "a poisonous substance produced by a fungus and especially a mold"

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.

"a poisonous substance produced by a fungus and especially a mold"

mycotoxin "a poisonous substance produced by a fungus and especially a mold"