East African Disease Informs Nath’s Search For The Cause Of ME/CFS

By Cort Johnson in Simmaron Research.

Could a disease found in the remote villages of East Africa end up being a model for chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)?

Dr. Avindra Nath – the leader of the NIH Intramural study on ME/CFS –  thinks perhaps so. He’s not daunted by mysterious diseases and nor should he be. Just a couple of years ago his NIH team was able – by bringing new technology to bear – to unravel a mysterious disease plaguing children in Africa. Using a much larger array of tests he’s hoping to do the same in ME/CFS.

Nath became acquainted with “nodding syndrome” at a meeting in Uganda in 2012. This strange and often devastating disease, found in the remote regions of Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan, causes children’s heads to periodically nod  and can produce seizures, mild to severe cognitive impairment, muteness, gait problems, paralysis and often death. Brain scans have shown significant brain atrophy.

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