Our Findings: The Role of BH4 in ME/CFS

The bioavailability of BH4 is known to be tightly coupled with cardiovascular health and circulation. It’s critical for the synthesis of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin. It has never been studied in ME/CFS.

When we looked at our patients’ serum, we observed that there was a strong upregulation of BH4 in ME/CFS patients compared to healthy controls. ME/CFS patients who also had Orthostatic Intolerance had an even higher level of BH4 in serum. In this instance, more is definitely not better.

Though the role of BH4 in health and disease is not fully understood, we do know dysregulated BH4 biosynthesis impairs mitochondrial energy production, induces oxidative stress, and augments autophagy impairment. It has also been linked to reduced blood pressure. 

This biological pathway has excellent potential for pharmaceutical treatment, and that's why we are studying it. It is our ongoing mission to focus our research on what can bring relief to our patient population.

A Year of Results from Simmaron's Fresh Perspective!

We are celebrating leaps in research and recognition this year, including:

• Simmaron's 1st NIH Grant for the study called “ATG13: A new player in ME/CFS”
• A Ramsay Grant from the Solve ME/CFS Initiative for our 1st-in-kind mouse model work
• 5 peer-reviewed publications, including first-in-the-field on BH4, butyrate and microbiome results featured in NIH Director's blog, a review of potential molecular mechanisms in post-viral disease, altered fatty acid oxidation with Cornell's team, and sample contribution to Cornell and Columbia's publication on proteomics and cytokine biomarkers. See our publications here: https://www.simmaronresearch.com/publications

Let’s Change Everything about ME, LongCovid, and POTS Together!

We're aiming squarely at building the tools for drug discovery so ME, POTS and Long-Covid patients can finally have treatments.

We need your support to identify new biological pathways that could be treatable, like BH4. Donate and spread the word about our science, if you can. Every day, we thank you, our loved ones, and our community for persevering.

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