Santa Rasa

Santa Rasa, MD, PhD, is a leading researcher at Augusts Kirchenstein Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia. Dr Rasa is currenting studying the association between beta-herpesviruses (Human herpesvirus 6A, [[HHV-6]B, HHV-7) and parvovirus B19 infection with development of fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

EUROMENE

Dr. Rasa is a substitute member of the Biomarkers Working Group of ME/CFS across Europe on behalf of EUROMENE, a European Union COST Action CA15111 not-for-profit research organization committed to tackling the cause and treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Thesis

• 2017, Association of persistent viral infections with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Her Scientific supervisor was Modra Murovska. (Summary)

Notable studies

• 2012, Association of active human herpesvirus-6, -7 and parvovirus B19 infection with clinical outcomes in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
• 2014, No evidence of XMRV provirus sequences in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and individuals with unspecified encephalopathy (Full text)
• 2014, Assessment of Value of Fatigue Severity and Symptoms in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia (Full text)
• 2016, Occurrence, phase and status of human parvovirus B19 infection in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (Abstract)
• 2018, Chronic viral infections in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) (Full text)

Online presence

• PubMed
• ResearchGate
• LinkedIn

See also

• EUROMENE
• Modra Murovska

β β / Β. Greek letter beta (a symbol used in science), equivalent to "b".

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

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.