Halmos Undergraduate Co-Author of Chronic Fatigue Journal Article

This spring, Halmos undergraduate biology major Mina Bekheit was a co-author of the publication with Dr. Lubov Nathanson from the Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine (Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine). The article is entitled “Unravelling myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): Gender‐specific changes in the microRNA expression profiling in ME/CFS” and was published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. In addition to Mina Bekheit, who significantly assisted in the data analysis, other Halmos undergraduates worked on the project. Leah Orton and Anna Movila participated in the literature search and analysis, Kenza Schreiber and Angelica Darmenko helped with the data input and analysis. Leah, Anna, Kenza and Angelica are acknowledged in the publication.

The articles abstract states: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multisystem illness characterized by medically unexplained debilitating fatigue with suggested altered immunological state. Our study aimed to explore peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for microRNAs (miRNAs) expression in ME/CFS subjects under an exercise challenge. The findings highlight the immune response and inflammation links to differential miRNA expression in ME/CFS. The present study is particularly important in being the first to uncover the differences that exist in miRNA expression patterns in males and females with ME/CFS in response to exercise. This provides new evidence for the understanding of differential miRNA expression patterns and post‐exertional malaise in ME/CFS. We also report miRNA expression pattern differences associating with the nutritional status in individuals with ME/CFS, highlighting the effect of subjects’ metabolic state on molecular changes to be considered in clinical research within the NINDS/CDC ME/CFS Common Data Elements. The identification of gender‐based miRNAs importantly provides new insights into gender‐specific ME/CFS susceptibility and demands exploration of sex‐suited ME/CFS therapeutics.