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Clinical Nutrition Profile for ME/CFS

Grant Winners

  • Amanpreet Cheema, Ph.D. – Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Nancy Klimas, MD – Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Mary Ann Fletcher, PhD – Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Maria Abreu, PhD – Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dean

  • Ellaine Wallace, D.O., M.S., M.S., M.S. – Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine

Abstract

Award Winners The underlying mechanisms tied to the onset and progression of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) remain unclear leaving treatment based on phenotypic presentation and symptomatology. Chronic nutritional deficiencies in individual may cause neurological abnormalities, immune and mitochondrial dysfunction, gastrointestinal disturbances, nausea, fatigue, emotional lability, etc. which is seen in ME/CFS, linking nutritional status with disease progression. This proposed study will allow us to establish ME/CFS specific nutritional assessment tool, which in turn will aid in customized strategies using functional nutrition, enhancing patient health and increasing our understanding of which metabolic pathways to target. The objectives of this study are 1) to develop and validate a FFQ reflecting dietary intakes of the population with ME/CFS, which can be used as an assessment tool for dietary deficiencies in this patient population, 2) to create Clinical Nutrition Profile (CNP) employing the tool with anthropometric, clinical and laboratory measurements. With use of CNPs, we hope to enable subgrouping of patients, identify targets of disease activity and potentially by targeting these abnormalities with supplementation and functional nutrition strategies, enable improved function of organ systems alone and in concert to allow the body to reset homeostasis and respond to treatment more effectively.
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