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Table 1 Description of healthy controls (HC) and patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia (CFS/FM) including clinical data, measures from conditioned pain modulation, cytokine expression, DNA methylation, and prevalence of polymorphisms. Data is reported as the mean estimate and standard error (SE) of both assessments (at Day 1 and Day 4) from the repeated measure mixed linear models and include subjects as random factor, time as repeated effect, group and haplotype as fixed effects, and age, body-mass index and symptoms at the CSL questionnaire as covariates, as described in the statistical analyses. CSL: chronic fatigue syndrome symptom list. CPM: conditioned pain modulation (# numbers should be interpreted as the higher the number the better the descending modulation); IL-6: interleukin-6; IFN-γ: interferon-γ; TGF-β: transformative growth factor-β; COMT: Catechol-O-methyltransferase. C.I.: confidence interval. *between-group significant differences at p < .05. χ: Chi-squared Test’s value

From: Genetic and epigenetic regulation of Catechol-O-methyltransferase in relation to inflammation in chronic fatigue syndrome and Fibromyalgia

 

HC

n = 26

CFS/FM

n = 28

Mean difference

(95% C.I.)

p

Clinical

    

CSL Total

23.51 (5.04)

99.80 (5.69)

76.29 (61.88; 90.69)

< 0.001*

CPM (°C) #

    

To cold stimuli

1.89 (0.37)

2.16 (0.43)

0.271 (-0.787; 1.33)

0.610

To heat stimuli

0.92 (0.28)

0.98 (0.31)

0.059 (-0.71; 0.82)

0.878

Cytokines

    

IL-6 (pg/mL)

0.71 (0.26)

1.30 (0.22)

0.591 (-0.135; 1.32)

0.109

IFN-γ (pg/mL)

12.29 (1.22)

6.62 (1.50)

-5.66 (-9.70; -1.62)

0.007*

TGF-β (ng/mL)

12.18 (1.03)

13.07 (1.12)

0.89 (-2.44; 4.22)

0.597

DNA Methylation (%)

    

MB-COMTa

2.39 (0.183)

2.78 (0.21)

0.39 (-0.14; 0.94)

0.465

MB-COMTb

1.55 (0.12)

1.54 (0.13)

0.07 (-0.53; 0.52)

0.978

MB-COMTc

1.70 (0.29)

3.12 (0.31)

1.42 (0.52; 2.32)

0.003*

Mean MB-COMT

1.94 (0.22)

2.74 (0.23)

0.80 (0.14; 1.45)

0.018*

S-COMTa

61.63 (1.22)

62.47 (1.37)

0.81 (-3.23; 4.85)

0.691

 S-COMTb

93.39 (0.36)

93.90 (0.39)

0.50 (-0.53; 1.53)

0.334

 S-COMTc

91.74 (0.34)

92.18 (0.38)

0.44 (-0.68; 1.56.71)

0.436

Mean S-COMT

81.13 (0.50)

81.71 (0.56)

0.58 (-1.07; 2.23)

0.487

Polymorphism (n)

    

rs4633 (TT/CT/CC)

4/15/7

4/21/3

2.529χ

0.287

rs4818 (CC/GC/GG)

5/15/6

7/16/5

.072χ

0.965

rs4680 (AA/GA/GG)

4/15/7

5/20/3

2.930χ

0.403