"
In conclusion: a simplified model:
Someone born with tethered cord (not necessary but it helps) , gets an infection while living in an environment with toxins. Becomes one of the substantial minority of the people with that infection who have a chronic illness. The infection and environmental exposure lead to inflammation in the brainstem and globally, which in some patients damages ligaments, leading to craniocervical instability. So most or all patients end up with either inflammation in the brainstem or mechanical compression of this. This leads to very severe ME, the brainstem compression in turn blocks csf flow, which prevents the brain from proper detoxification, especially during sleep. Brainstem compression , cord stretching , and inflammation cause all or most of the autonomic issues, blood flow problems, and PEM in this illness. Csf flow blockage causes a vicious cycle in which the brain cannot properly detoxify, and thus the environmental toxins which caused the initial inflammation become even more of an issue, causing an inflammatory response while trying to expel them (cite recent research rethinking the allergy theory of it being adaptive not just against parasites ).
And one last thought: I believe that despite the role of other things, such as infection and trauma, in this disease, the role of as of yet unknown environmental toxins/pollutants is , very underrated. Connective tissue damage as a sequelae of infection is not unheard of, but , we don't have good epidemiological data on how frequent these conditions are, and I believe them to be increasing. The environmentally caused inflammation may be the main difference separating those who have me/cfs post infection and those who dont. I would have high confidence in the ability to make an animal model of me/cfs based on these factors, if only we knew what the unknown environmental toxin was. That variable, agent x, needs to be found. Otherwise we will know how to treat me/cfs but not cure it or prevent relapse. "
