Alongside Dr. Raven Baxter and Dr. David Putrino, Dr Amy Proal – who is currently working on a project identifying viruses in tissue and nerve samples from ME/CFS patients funded by ME Research UK, recently took part in a “CoRE Knowledge Session” on pathogen reactivation.
In this online discussion – hosted by the Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illnesses (CoRE) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, Dr. Proal explains what pathogen reactivation is; throughout our lives – and even as a baby in the womb, we acquire pathogens – viruses, bacteria, and fungi, which – while they are “kept in check” by our immune system, lie dormant in our cells. However, under conditions of immunosuppression or immune dysregulation – such as stress, pregnancy, exposure to toxins, or potentially when a person gets another infection that “throws off the immune response for a period of time”, these dormant pathogens can activate and change their activity to cause “chronic complex illnesses” – which research suggests includes ME/CFS.
Watch the online discussion (description of pathogen activation is at 3 mins 32 secs, for those interested, Dr. Proal goes on to talk about “How pathogens can serve as a fundamental cause of complex chronic illness” from 6 mins 30 seconds).
