Fw: [CO-CURE] res: Self-test monitoring of the Th1/Th2 balance in health & disease with emphasis on CFS/ME

[Guest guest]

I read this article on self monitoring of Th1/Th2 balance. It mentions in

passing that green tea is a Th2 stimulant. Oops, I've been drinking white

tea lately because my acupuncturist recommended it to help get off the

chocolate. So far I have found that the following are Th2 stimulants and

presumably would be bad for anyone with CFS:

caffeine, green tea, grape seed extract, gota kola, pycogenal, chocolate.

Th1 stimulants, which should be good for us: echinacea, maitake mushroom,

goldenseal, astragulus, garlic, vit C. They may be more in Dr. Conners

book Help My Body Is Killing Me. Anybody know of a longer list of Th1/Th2

stimulants? Does avoiding the Th2 stimulants and taking the Th1 stimulants

help you?

Beverly H

[CO-CURE] res: Self-test monitoring of the Th1/Th2 balance in

health & disease with emphasis on CFS/ME

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>>>>> Help ME Circle <<<<

>>>> 16 February 2012 <<<<

Editorship : j.van.roijen@...

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Below you will find the abstract and the introduction-session

(and for private members) an attachment in pdf format of the

original version of:

*Self-test monitoring of the Th1/Th2 balance in health

and disease with special emphasis on chronic fatigue

syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis*.

Authors: Roelant and Kenny De Meirleir

The full pdf article can also be found for free at the address

below.

~jan van roijen

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http://www.academicjournals.org/JMLD/contents/2012%20cont/Feb.htm

Journal-Of-Medical-Laboratory-and-Diagnosis

Research Articles

Journal of Medical Laboratory and Diagnosis Vol. 3(1), pp.1-

6, February 2012

DOI: 10.5897/JMLD11.023

ISSN 2141-2618 ©2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Self-test monitoring of the Th1/Th2 balance in

health and disease with special emphasis on

chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic

encephalomyelitis

Roelant1* and Kenny De Meirleir2

1Protea Biopharma N.V., De Tyraslaan 111, 1120

Neder-Over-Heembeek, Belgium.

2Department of Human Physiology, Free University of

Brussels (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.

*Corresponding author. E-mail:

croelant@...

Tel: +32/2/481.5310.

Fax: +32/2/481.5311

Accepted 18 October, 2011

Abstract

A simple " self-test " principle is described which allows

patients to evaluate their Th1/Th2 balance repeatedly over

short periods of time to follow-up the effects of taking pre-

and probiotics, neutraceuticals, drugs or any other

therapeutic strategy to balance Th1/Th2 status.

By analysing a large number of first morning urine samples

obtained from individuals with medical conditions

associated with an overactive Th2 arm (ulcerative colitis,

autism, blastocystis, mercury poisoning and viral infection),

a reaction principle was discovered that uses a redox-active

colorimetric substrate changing color upon reaction with

metabolites present at high concentration in the urine

samples of Th2-shifted individuals.

The development of color is time-dependent and quantitative.

Moreover, 75% of urine samples obtained from chronic

fatigue/myalgic encephalomyelitis patients produced a

time-dependent and quantitative change of color compared

to only 4% of the controls (perfectly healthy population),

providing evidence that chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic

encephalomyelitis is a condition associated with an

overactive Th2 arm.

Key words: Th1/Th2 balance, urine samples, self test,

chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis

(CFS/ME).

INTRODUCTION

T helper cells (Th cells) are a sub-group of lymphocytes

which play an important role in establishing and maximising

the capabilities of the immune system (Mosmann et al.,

1986).

Th cells are specifically involved in activating and directing

other immune cells and may differentiate into two major

sub-types of cells known as Th1 and Th2 cells (Prete, 1998;

Simpson et al., 2002).

Whereas Th1 cells are critically involved in the generation of

effective cellular immunity, Th2 cells are instrumental in the

generation of humoral and mucosal immunity and allergy

(Bonecchi et al., 1998; Arestides et al., 2002).

Diseases and particularly immune-mediated disorders

involve dysregulation of the Th1/Th2 balance and can often

be classified as Th1- or Th2- mediated (Th1 or Th2

dominant) (Mosman and Coffman, 1989; Nicholson and

Kuchroo, 1996; Nishimura, 1999).

However, simple self-tests allowing physicians and patients

to follow-up Th1/Th2 balance during therapy are lacking and

therefore it still remains very difficult for an individual to

evaluate whether the medical treatment he or she is

undergoing to restore Th1/Th2 balance is effective.

In addition, the effectiveness of over-the-counter products

which claim to balance Th1/Th2 status (such as anti-

oxidants, pro-biotics and other) should be able to be

evaluated on an individual basis.

Many patients try to improve their health by " trial and error " ,

exploring probiotics, neutraceuticals and drugs, without

realizing the potential risk of further deterioration to their

health by randomly taking products that may worsen their

Th1/Th2 balance.

Several chronic inflammatory diseases have been described

as Th1-mediated diseases, including multiple sclerosis

(Tremlett et al., 2002), inflammatory bowel disease (Pallene

and Monteleone, 1998), Crohn's disease (Brand, 2009),

diabetes (Aso et al., 2006; Kyoko et al., 2008), Lupus

(Theofilopoulos et al., 2001), Königs disease (Flynn et al.,

2004) and rheumatoid arthritis (Harting et al., 2003).

Diseases reported as being Th2-mediated include allergic

rhinitis (Shahabi et al., 2006), asthma (Tremlett et al., 2002;

Hoshimo et al., 2003), autism (Gupta et al., 1998),

dermatitis (Makatani et al., 2003), ulcerative colitis (Heller

et al., 2005) and blastocystis (Zierdt, 1991).

In general, immune-mediated disorders are difficult to treat.

Some therapies specifically aim to restore the Th1/Th2

balance by down-regulating Th1 activity and up-regulating

Th2 activity, or vice versa (Adorini et al., 1996).

Obviously, this requires an accurate diagnosis of the

disease, as inappropriate treatment may result in a greater

Th1/Th2 imbalance.

However, a specific diagnosis is often difficult to obtain.

Indeed, many diseases and conditions share common

symptoms, such as fatigue. Therefore, there is a need for

broad spectrum assays and kits which make it possible to

detect in a simple way and at an early stage whether a

patient suffers from a Th1- or a Th2- mediated disease.

Here, we describe the development of such an

easy-to-perform self-test principle that uses a redox-active

colorimetric substrate producing a clearly visible change of

color upon reaction with metabolites present at high

concentration in the urine of Th2-shifted individuals.

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