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You are here: Home / ME/CFS / Symptoms / Part 1: CFS – The Central Cause: Mitochondrial Failure

Part 1: CFS – The Central Cause: Mitochondrial Failure

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The International Journalof Clinical and Experimental Medicine recently published the results of a study where researchers believe they have proven the mitochondrial dysfunction linked to the production of energy through adenosine triphosphate or ATP.

Researchers state that depending on how severe the patient’s CFS is relates to how severe the mitochondrial dysfunction is.

Researchers also say that they can now determine whether fatigue and lack of energy is from ME/CFS or from other conditions like sleep disorders and hormonal deficiencies.

The job of the mitochondria is to supply energy in the form of ATP. This is the universal currency of energy. It can be used for all sorts of biochemical jobs from muscle contraction to hormone production. When mitochondria fail, this results in poor supply of ATP, so cells go slow because they do not have the energy supply to function at a normal speed. This means that all bodily functions go slow.

Mitochondrial dysfunction affects every area of the body including the heart, the skin, the brain, the muscles, the liver and gut, the lungs and the kidneys. Keep coming back daily to read how mitochondrial dysfunctions affects all of these parts of the body. I’m going to focus on mitochondrial dysfunction and its affects all this week.

Dr. Sarah Myhill has a perfect analogy she uses to explain mitochondria:

A very useful analogy is to think of the body as a car. What supplies the energy and the power to make that car work is the engine. Effectively mitochondria are the engines of our cells – they supply the energy necessary for all cellular processes to take place.

We are made up of lots of different cells – heart, blood, muscle nerve cells etc. All these cells are different because they all have a different job of work to do. To do this job of work requires energy. But the way in which energy is supplied is the same for every cell in the body. Indeed all animals share this same system. The mitochondria in my dog, my cat and my horse are exactly the same as mine. Mitochondria are a common biological unit across the animal kingdom. Energy is supplied to cells by mitochondria which I think of as little engines which power every cell in the body.

It sounds as though it won’t be long before there is a diagnostic test for ME/CFS which will be a blessing to all ME/CFS patients.

Sources: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Mitochondrial Dysfunction & Dr. Myhill

Filed Under: Symptoms Tagged With: ME/CFS, Mitochondrial Failure

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