ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Existing instruments often are inappropriate to measure the effects of post-exertional malaise (PEM) and post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE) on activities of daily living (ADLs). A validated questionnaire to measure self-reported ability with ADLs would advance research and clinical practice in conditions like myalgic encephalomyelitis and Long Covid. OBJECTIVE: Determine the measurement properties of the PEM/PESE Activity Questionnaire (PAQ). METHODS: The PAQ is adapted from the Patient Specific Functional Scale. Respondents rated three self-selected ADLs on two 0-100 scales, including current performance compared to (1) a 'good day' and (2) before illness. Respondents provided a Burden of Functioning rating on a 0-100 scale, anchored at 0 being the activity took "No time, effort, and resources at all" and 10 being "All of my time, effort, and resources." Respondents took the PAQ twice, completing a demographic questionnaire after the first PAQ and before the second PAQ. Descriptive statistics and intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated for each scale to assess test-retest reliability. Minimum detectable change outside the 95% confidence interval (MDC95) was calculated. Ceiling and floor effects were determined when the MDC95 for average and function scores crossed 0 and 100, respectively. RESULTS: nâ=â981 responses were recorded, including nâ=â675 complete surveys. Test-retest reliability was generally fair to excellent, depending on function and scale. MDC95 values generally indicated scale responsiveness. Ceiling and floor effects were noted infrequently for specific functions. CONCLUSION: The PAQ is valid, reliable, and sensitive. Additional research may explore measurement properties involving functions that were infrequently selected in this sample.
Subject(s)
Activities of Daily Living , COVID-19 , Humans , Reproducibility of Results , Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is the hallmark symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) yet its diverse manifestations make it difficult to recognize. Brief instruments for detecting PEM are critical for clinical and scientific progress. OBJECTIVE: To develop a clinical prediction rule for PEM. METHOD: 49 ME/CFS and 10 healthy, sedentary subjects recruited from the community completed two maximal cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPETs) separated by 24 hours. At five different times, subjects reported symptoms which were then classified into 19 categories. The frequency of symptom reports between groups at each time point was compared using Fisher's exact test. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis with area under the curve calculation was used to determine the number of different types of symptom reports that were sufficient to differentiate between ME/CFS and sedentary groups. The optimal number of symptoms was determined where sensitivity and specificity of the types of symptom reports were balanced. RESULTS: At all timepoints, a maximum of two symptoms was optimal to determine differences between groups. Only one symptom was necessary to optimally differentiate between groups at one week following the second CPET. Fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, lack of positive feelings/mood and decrease in function were consistent predictors of ME/CFS group membership across timepoints. CONCLUSION: Inquiring about post-exertional cognitive dysfunction, decline in function, and lack of positive feelings/mood may help identify PEM quickly and accurately. These findings should be validated with a larger sample of patients.
Subject(s)
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic , Humans , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/complications , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/diagnosis , Emotions , Exercise Test , AffectABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) causes significant impairment in daily activities, including the ability to pursue daily activities. Chronotropic intolerance is becoming better characterized in ME/CFS and may be the target of supportive treatment. OBJECTIVE: To document the effect of repeated intravenous (IV) saline administration on cardiovascular functioning and symptoms in a 38-year old female with ME/CFS. METHODS: The patient received 1âL of 0.9% IV saline through a central line for a total of 675 days. Single CPETs were completed periodically to assess the effect of treatment on cardiopulmonary function at peak exertion and ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT). An open-ended symptom questionnaire was used to assess subjective responses to CPET and self-reported recovery time. RESULTS: Improvements were noted in volume of oxygen consumed (VO2), heart rate (HR), and systolic blood pressure (SBP) at peak and VAT. Self-reported recovery time from CPET reduced from 5 days to 1-2 days by the end of treatment. The patient reported improved quality of life related, improved capacity for activities of daily living, and reduced symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: IV saline may promote beneficial effects for cardiopulmonary function and symptoms in people with ME/CFS, which should be the focus of formal study.
Subject(s)
Exercise Therapy/standards , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/therapy , Saline Solution/pharmacology , Administration, Intravenous/methods , Adult , Exercise Test/methods , Exercise Therapy/methods , Exercise Therapy/statistics & numerical data , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/complications , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/physiopathology , Heart Rate/physiology , Humans , Long-Term Care/standards , Long-Term Care/statistics & numerical data , Male , Saline Solution/administration & dosage , Saline Solution/therapeutic useABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is an exacerbation of symptoms that leads to a reduction in functionality. Recognition of PEM is important for the diagnosis and treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). OBJECTIVE: Symptoms following cardiopulmonary exercise testing were compared between ME/CFS patients and healthy controls. METHODS: Open-ended questionnaires were provided to subjects following two maximal exercise tests, 24 hours apart. Subjects evaluated how they felt at five time points. Responses were classified into 19 symptom categories. RESULTS: ME/CFS subjects (nâ=â49) reported an average of 14±7 symptoms compared to 4±3 by controls (nâ=â10). During the seven days afterwards, ME/CFS subjects reported 4±3 symptoms. None were reported by controls. Fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and sleep problems were reported with the greatest frequency. ME/CFS patients reported more symptom categories at higher frequencies than controls. The largest differences were observed in cognitive dysfunction, decrease in function, and positive feelings. CONCLUSIONS: A standardized exertional stimulus produced prolonged, diverse symptoms in ME/CFS subjects. This provides clues to the underlying pathophysiology of ME/CFS, leading to improved diagnosis and treatment.
Subject(s)
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/complications , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/diagnosis , Healthy Volunteers/statistics & numerical data , Physical Exertion/physiology , Adult , Exercise Test/methods , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/physiopathology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Physical Functional Performance , Surveys and Questionnaires , United StatesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Diminished cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) performance indicates the physiological basis for reduced capacity for activities of daily living and work. Thus, it may be a biomarker for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). OBJECTIVE: To determine statistical properties of cardiac, pulmonary, and metabolic measurements obtained during CPET in people with ME/CFS. METHODS: Fifty-one females with ME/CFS and 10 sedentary females with similar age and body mass received cardiac, pulmonary, and metabolic measurements during 2 CPETs separated by 24 hours. Two-way analysis of variance and effect size calculations (Cohen's d) were used to assess the magnitude and statistical significance of differences in measurements between groups. Reliability of CPET measurements was estimated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC2,1). Responsiveness of CPET measurements was assessed using minimum detectable change outside the 95% confidence interval (MDC95) and coefficients of variation (CoV). RESULTS: CPET measurements demonstrated moderate to high reliability for individuals with ME/CFS. Comparing subjects with ME/CFS and control subjects yielded moderate to large effect sizes on all CPET measurements. MDC95 for all individuals with ME/CFS generally exceeded control subjects and CoVs for CPET measurements were comparable between groups. CONCLUSIONS: CPET measurements demonstrate adequate responsiveness and reproducibility for research and clinical applications.
Subject(s)
Exercise Test/methods , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/physiopathology , Activities of Daily Living , Case-Control Studies , Female , Heart Rate , Humans , Reproducibility of Results , RespirationABSTRACT
Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is the hallmark clinical feature of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). PEM involves a constellation of substantially disabling signs and symptoms that occur in response to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual over-exertion. Because PEM occurs in response to over-exertion, physiological measurements obtained during standardized exertional paradigms hold promise to contribute greatly to our understanding of the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and metabolic states underlying PEM. In turn, information from standardized exertional paradigms can inform patho-etiologic studies and analeptic management strategies in people with ME/CFS. Several studies have been published that describe physiologic responses to exercise in people with ME/CFS, using maximal cardiopulmonary testing (CPET) as a standardized physiologic stressor. In both non-disabled people and people with a wide range of health conditions, the relationship between exercise heart rate (HR) and exercise workload during maximal CPET are repeatable and demonstrate a positive linear relationship. However, smaller or reduced increases in heart rate during CPET are consistently observed in ME/CFS. This blunted rise in heart rate is called chronotropic intolerance (CI). CI reflects an inability to appropriately increase cardiac output because of smaller than expected increases in heart rate. The purposes of this review are to (1) define CI and discuss its applications to clinical populations; (2) summarize existing data regarding heart rate responses to exercise obtained during maximal CPET in people with ME/CFS that have been published in the peer-reviewed literature through systematic review and meta-analysis; and (3) discuss how trends related to CI in ME/CFS observed in the literature should influence future patho-etiological research designs and clinical practice.
ABSTRACT
Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a syndrome of unknown etiology characterized by profound fatigue exacerbated by physical activity, also known as post-exertional malaise (PEM). Previously, we did not detect evidence of immune dysregulation or virus reactivation outside of PEM periods. Here we sought to determine whether cardiopulmonary exercise stress testing of ME/CFS patients could trigger such changes. ME/CFS patients (n = 14) and matched sedentary controls (n = 11) were subjected to cardiopulmonary exercise on 2 consecutive days and followed up to 7 days post-exercise, and longitudinal whole blood samples analyzed by RNA-seq. Although ME/CFS patients showed significant worsening of symptoms following exercise versus controls, with 8 of 14 ME/CFS patients showing reduced oxygen consumption ([Formula: see text]) on day 2, transcriptome analysis yielded only 6 differentially expressed gene (DEG) candidates when comparing ME/CFS patients to controls across all time points. None of the DEGs were related to immune signaling, and no DEGs were found in ME/CFS patients before and after exercise. Virome composition (P = 0.746 by chi-square test) and number of viral reads (P = 0.098 by paired t-test) were not significantly associated with PEM. These observations do not support transcriptionally-mediated immune cell dysregulation or viral reactivation in ME/CFS patients during symptomatic PEM episodes.
Subject(s)
Exercise Test/adverse effects , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/genetics , Fatigue/genetics , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Exercise/physiology , Fatigue/complications , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/blood , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/immunology , Female , Gene Expression Profiling/methods , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Middle Aged , Transcriptome/geneticsABSTRACT
Every anesthesia provider fears aspiration of gastric contents during an anesthetic, and it may occur even in the absence of overt signs such as coughing or choking. Whether the aspiration is frank or silent, catastrophic and deleterious consequences may ensue. Therefore, familiarity with risk factors for silent aspiration is essential. Crohn's disease reportedly delays gastric emptying making these patients more susceptible to silent aspiration during surgery. Anesthesia providers must be cognizant of this risk and vigilant in the recognition to formulate a specific treatment plan preoperatively. We present a case of an ambulatory surgical patient with suspected silent aspiration undiagnosed by the anesthesia care team before induction of anesthesia.
ABSTRACT
There are two very different interpretations of the prehistory of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA), with genetic evidence invoked in support of both. The "out-of-Taiwan" model proposes a major Late Holocene expansion of Neolithic Austronesian speakers from Taiwan. An alternative, proposing that Late Glacial/postglacial sea-level rises triggered largely autochthonous dispersals, accounts for some otherwise enigmatic genetic patterns, but fails to explain the Austronesian language dispersal. Combining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome and genome-wide data, we performed the most comprehensive analysis of the region to date, obtaining highly consistent results across all three systems and allowing us to reconcile the models. We infer a primarily common ancestry for Taiwan/ISEA populations established before the Neolithic, but also detected clear signals of two minor Late Holocene migrations, probably representing Neolithic input from both Mainland Southeast Asia and South China, via Taiwan. This latter may therefore have mediated the Austronesian language dispersal, implying small-scale migration and language shift rather than large-scale expansion.
Subject(s)
Asian People/genetics , DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics , Genome, Human , Asia, Southeastern , Chromosomes, Human, Y/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Female , Genetic Association Studies , Genetic Loci , Humans , Male , Models, Genetic , Phylogeny , Phylogeography , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Reduced functional capacity and postexertion fatigue after physical activity are hallmark symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and may even qualify for biomarker status. That these symptoms are often delayed may explain the equivocal results for clinical cardiopulmonary exercise testing in people with CFS. Test reproducibility in people who are healthy is well documented. Test reproducibility may not be achievable in people with CFS because of delayed symptoms. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the discriminative validity of objective measurements obtained during cardiopulmonary exercise testing to distinguish participants with CFS from participants who did not have a disability but were sedentary. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study was conducted. METHODS: Gas exchange data, workloads, and related physiological parameters were compared in 51 participants with CFS and 10 control participants, all women, for 2 maximal exercise tests separated by 24 hours. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed no significant differences between control participants and participants with CFS for test 1. However, for test 2, participants with CFS achieved significantly lower values for oxygen consumption and workload at peak exercise and at the ventilatory or anaerobic threshold. Follow-up classification analysis differentiated between groups with an overall accuracy of 95.1%. LIMITATIONS: Only individuals with CFS who were able to undergo exercise testing were included in this study. Individuals who were unable to meet the criteria for maximal effort during both tests, were unable to complete the 2-day protocol, or displayed overt cardiovascular abnormalities were excluded from the analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of any significant differences between groups for the first exercise test would appear to support a deconditioning hypothesis for CFS symptoms. However, the results from the second test indicated the presence of CFS-related postexertion fatigue. It might be concluded that a single exercise test is insufficient to reliably demonstrate functional impairment in people with CFS. A second test might be necessary to document the atypical recovery response and protracted fatigue possibly unique to CFS, which can severely limit productivity in the home and workplace.
Subject(s)
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/diagnosis , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/physiopathology , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Exercise Test , Exercise Tolerance/physiology , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/metabolism , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Oxygen Consumption , Prospective Studies , Pulmonary Gas Exchange , Reproducibility of Results , Sedentary BehaviorABSTRACT
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating condition that has received increasing attention from researchers in the past decade. However, it has become difficult to compare data collected in different laboratories due to the variability in basic information regarding descriptions of sampling methods, patient characteristics, and clinical assessments. The issue of variability in CFS research was recently highlighted at the NIH's 2011 State of the Knowledge of CFS meeting prompting researchers to consider the critical information that should be included in CFS research reports. To address this problem, we present our consensus on the minimum data elements that should be included in all CFS research reports, along with additional elements that are currently being evaluated in specific research studies that show promise as important patient descriptors for subgrouping of CFS. These recommendations are intended to improve the consistency of reported methods and the interpretability of reported results. Adherence to minimum standards and increased reporting consistency will allow for better comparisons among published CFS articles, provide guidance for future research and foster the generation of knowledge that can directly benefit the patient.
Subject(s)
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/epidemiology , Research Design/standards , Consensus , HumansABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To determine the validity and reliability of Short Form 36 Version 2 (SF36v2) in sub-groups of individuals with fatigue. METHOD: Thirty subjects participated in this study, including n = 16 subjects who met case definition criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and n = 14 non-disabled sedentary matched control subjects. SF36v2 and Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) were administered before two maximal cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPETs) administered 24 h apart and an open-ended recovery questionnaire was administered 7 days after CPET challenge. The main outcome measures were self-reported time to recover to pre-challenge functional and symptom status, frequency of post-exertional symptoms and SF36v2 sub-scale scores. RESULTS: Individuals with CFS demonstrated significantly lower SF36v2 and MFI-20 sub-scale scores prior to CPET. Between-group differences remained significant post-CPET, however, there were no significant group by test interaction effects. Subjects with CFS reported significantly more total symptoms (p < 0.001), as well as reports of fatigue (p < 0.001), neuroendocrine (p < 0.001), immune (p < 0.01), pain (p < 0.01) and sleep disturbance (p < 0.01) symptoms than control subjects as a result of CPET. Many symptom counts demonstrated significant relationships with SF36v2 sub-scale scores (p < 0.05). SF36v2 and MFI-20 sub-scale scores demonstrated significant correlations (p < 0.05). Various SF36v2 sub-scale scores demonstrated significant predictive validity to identify subjects who recovered from CPET challenge within 1 day and 7 days (p < 0.05). Potential floor effects were observed for both questionnaires for individuals with CFS. CONCLUSION: Various sub-scales of SF36v2 demonstrated adequate reliability and validity for clinical and research applications. Adequacy of sensitivity to change of SF36v2 as a result of a fatiguing stressor should be the subject of additional study.
Subject(s)
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/rehabilitation , Health Status Indicators , Exercise Test , Humans , ROC Curve , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To determine the diagnostic accuracy for single symptoms and clusters of symptoms to distinguish between individuals with and without chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). METHODS: A cohort study was conducted in an exercise physiology laboratory in an academic setting. Thirty subjects participated in this study (nâ=â16 individuals with CFS; nâ=â14 non-disabled sedentary matched control subjects). An open-ended symptom questionnaire was administered 1 week following the second of two maximal cardiopulmonary exercise tests administered 24 h apart. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was significant for failure to recover within 1 day (area under the curveâ = â0.864, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.706-1.00, pâ=â0.001) but not within 7 days. Clinimetric properties of failure to recover within 1 day to predict membership in the CFS cohort were sensitivity 0.80, specificity 0.93, positive predictive value 0.92, negative predictive value 0.81, positive likelihood ratio 11.4, and negative likelihood ratio 0.22. Fatigue demonstrated high sensitivity and modest specificity to distinguish between cohorts, while neuroendocrine dysfunction, immune dysfunction, pain, and sleep disturbance demonstrated high specificity and modest sensitivity. ROC analysis suggested cut-point of three associated symptoms (0.871, 95% CI: 0.717-1.00, pâ<â0.001). A significant binary logistic regression model (pâ<â0.001) revealed immune abnormalities, sleep disturbance and pain accurately classified 92% of individuals with CFS and 88% of control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: A cluster of associated symptoms distinguishes between individuals with and without CFS. Fewer associated symptoms may be necessary to establish a diagnosis of CFS than currently described.
Subject(s)
Exercise Tolerance , Exercise , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/diagnosis , Area Under Curve , Case-Control Studies , Cohort Studies , Exercise Test , Female , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Sensitivity and Specificity , Surveys and Questionnaires , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Here, we describe a family of methods based on residue-residue connectivity for characterizing binding sites and apply variants of the method to various types of protein-ligand complexes including proteases, allosteric-binding sites, correctly and incorrectly docked poses, and inhibitors of protein-protein interactions. Residues within ligand-binding sites have about 25% more contact neighbors than surface residues in general; high-connectivity residues are found in contact with the ligand in 84% of all complexes studied. In addition, a k-means algorithm was developed that may be useful for identifying potential binding sites with no obvious geometric or connectivity features. The analysis was primarily carried out on 61 protein-ligand structures from the MEROPS protease database, 250 protein-ligand structures from the PDBSelect (25%), and 30 protein-protein complexes. Analysis of four proteases with crystal structures for multiple bound ligands has shown that residues with high connectivity tend to have less variable side-chain conformation. The relevance to drug design is discussed in terms of identifying allosteric-binding sites, distinguishing between alternative docked poses and designing protein interface inhibitors. Taken together, this data indicate that residue-residue connectivity is highly relevant to medicinal chemistry.
Subject(s)
Allosteric Site , Computational Biology/methods , Databases, Protein , Drug Design , Proteins/metabolism , Algorithms , Crystallography, X-Ray , Ligands , Peptide Hydrolases/chemistry , Peptide Hydrolases/metabolism , Protein Conformation , Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Proteins/chemistryABSTRACT
Nonoverlapping closed loops of around 25-35 amino acids formed via nonlocal interactions at the loop ends have been proposed as an important unit of protein structure. This hypothesis is significant as such short loops can fold quickly and so would not be bound by the Leventhal paradox, giving insight into the possible nature of the funnel in protein folding. Previously, these closed loops have been identified either by sequence analysis (conservation and autocorrelation) or studies of the geometry of individual proteins. Given the potential significance of the closed loop hypothesis, we have explored a new strategy for determining closed loops from the insertions identified by the structural alignment of proteins sharing the same overall fold. We determined the locations of the closed loops in 37 pairs of proteins and obtained excellent agreement with previously published closed loops. The relevance of NMR structures to closed loop determination is briefly discussed. For cytochrome c, cytochrome b(562) and triosephophate isomerase, independent folding units have been determined on the basis of hydrogen exchange experiments and misincorporation proton-alkyl exchange experiments. The correspondence between these experimentally derived foldons and the theoretically derived closed loops indicates that the closed loop hypothesis may provide a useful framework for analyzing such experimental data.
Subject(s)
Protein Folding , Proteins/chemistry , Sequence Alignment , Alkanes/chemistry , Amino Acids/chemistry , Cytochrome b Group/chemistry , Cytochromes c/chemistry , Escherichia coli Proteins/chemistry , Hydrogen/chemistry , Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Models, Molecular , Sequence Analysis, Protein , Triose-Phosphate Isomerase/chemistryABSTRACT
Fatigue is one of the most common reasons why people consult health care providers. Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is one cause of clinically debilitating fatigue. The underdiagnosis of CFS/ME, along with the spectrum of symptoms that represent multiple reasons for entry into physical therapy settings, places physical therapists in a unique position to identify this health condition and direct its appropriate management. The diagnosis and clinical correlates of CFS/ME are becoming better understood, although the optimal clinical management of this condition remains controversial. The 4 aims of this perspective article are: (1) to summarize the diagnosis of CFS/ME with the goal of promoting the optimal recognition of this condition by physical therapists; (2) to discuss aerobic system and cognitive deficits that may lead to the clinical presentation of CFS/ME; (3) to review the evidence for graded exercise with the goal of addressing limitations in body structures and functions, activity, and participation in people with CFS/ME; and (4) to present a conceptual model for the clinical management of CFS/ME by physical therapists.
Subject(s)
Exercise/physiology , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/rehabilitation , Cognition Disorders/physiopathology , Exercise Test , Exercise Tolerance/physiology , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/diagnosis , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/physiopathology , Humans , Oxygen Consumption/physiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Postexertional malaise (PEM) is a defining characteristic of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) that remains a source of some controversy. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of an exercise challenge on CFS symptoms from a patient perspective. METHODS: This study included 25 female CFS patients and 23 age-matched sedentary controls. All participants underwent a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test. Subjects completed a health and well-being survey (SF-36) 7 days postexercise. Subjects also provided, approximately 7 days after testing, written answers to open-ended questions pertaining to physical and cognitive responses to the test and length of recovery. SF-36 data were compared using multivariate analyses. Written questionnaire responses were used to determine recovery time as well as number and type of symptoms experienced. RESULTS: Written questionnaires revealed that within 24 hours of the test, 85% of controls indicated full recovery, in contrast to 0 CFS patients. The remaining 15% of controls recovered within 48 hours of the test. In contrast, only 1 CFS patient recovered within 48 hours. Symptoms reported after the exercise test included fatigue, light-headedness, muscular/joint pain, cognitive dysfunction, headache, nausea, physical weakness, trembling/instability, insomnia, and sore throat/glands. A significant multivariate effect for the SF-36 responses (p < 0.001) indicated lower functioning among the CFS patients, which was most pronounced for items measuring physiological function. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that PEM is both a real and an incapacitating condition for women with CFS and that their responses to exercise are distinctively different from those of sedentary controls.
Subject(s)
Exercise Tolerance/physiology , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/physiopathology , Physical Exertion , Adult , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/psychology , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Psychometrics , Recovery of Function , Surveys and Questionnaires , Time Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
We describe a strategy for including ligand and protein polarization in docking that is based on the conversion of induced dipoles to induced charges. Induced charges have a distinct advantage in that they are readily implemented into a number of different computer programs, including many docking programs and hybrid QM/MM programs; induced charges are also more readily interpreted. In this study, the ligand was treated quantum mechanically to avoid parametrization issues and was polarized by the target protein, which was treated as a set of point charges. The induced dipole at a given target atom, due to polarization by the ligand and neighboring residues, was reformulated as induced charges at the given atom and its bonded neighbors, and these were allowed to repolarize the ligand in an iterative manner. The final set of polarized charges was evaluated in docking using AutoDock 4.0 on 12 protein-ligand systems against the default empirical Gasteiger charges, and against nonpolarized and partially polarized potential-derived charges. One advantage of AutoDock is that the best rmsd structure can be identified not only from the lowest energy pose but also from the largest cluster of poses. Inclusion of polarization does not always lead to the lowest energy pose having a lower rmsd, because docking is designed by necessity to be rapid rather than accurate. However, whenever an improvement in methodology, corresponding to a more thorough treatment of polarization, resulted in an increased cluster size, then there was also a corresponding decrease in the rmsd. The options for implementing polarization within a purely classical docking framework are discussed.
Subject(s)
Models, Molecular , Animals , Binding Sites , Cattle , Crystallography, X-Ray , Databases, Protein , Humans , Ligands , Protein Binding , Protein Conformation , Proteins/chemistry , Proteins/metabolism , Quantum TheoryABSTRACT
The concept of model chemistries within hybrid QM/MM calculations has been addressed through analysis of the polarization energy determined by two distinct approaches based on (i) induced charges and (ii) induced dipoles. The quantum mechanical polarization energy for four configurations of the water dimer has been determined for a range of basis sets using Morokuma energy decomposition analysis. This benchmark value has been compared to the fully classical polarization energy determined using the induced dipole approach, and the molecular mechanics polarization energy calculated using induced charges within the MM region of hybrid QM/MM calculations. From the water dimer calculations, it is concluded that the induced charge approach is consistent with medium sized basis set calculations whereas the induced dipole approach is consistent with large basis set calculations. This result is highly relevant to the concept of QM/MM model chemistries.