Our new study will examine if physical exertion alters the functioning of the heart and vessels in such a way as to produce additional cognitive problems. Center investigators will also be starting a new project to understand how CFS affects attention and memory, as well as a patient's ability to react to changes in the environment. In order to make it easier for patients to participate in this study, it can be done in the convenience of their own homes at the time they choose. Although in the past, our Center has not found evidence of immune dysfunction in the blood of CFS patients, there is the possibility that immune abnormalities do exist in CFS patients, but in the brain instead of the blood. We will test this idea by studying immune function in cerebrospinal fluid.
Cerebrospinal fluid is the material that bathes the brain and is collected by a spinal tap.
Our studies to date have suggested that some CFS patients may have an abnormality in the heart or blood vessels. The radioisotope imaging study mentioned above will also tell us if the hearts of CFS patients are normal. Cardiologists commonly use this method to evaluate patients for heart disease. That study found no difference in sensitivity to tilt between CFS patients and healthy control subjects. LBNP is a more scientific way of testing for postural problems because it uses suction on the lower limbs to produce a measurable postural stress.