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Scientists have potentially identified a biomarker of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), sometimes called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), and have used it to create a blood test for the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 2.5 million people in the United States have ME / CFS, which is characterized by overwhelming fatigue that is not improved by rest. There is currently no simple test that can be used by physicians to diagnose ME / CFS; instead, their diagnoses are based on symptomatic criteria. Researchers led by Rahim Esfandyar for the University of California at Irvine and Ronald W. Davis of Stanford University have hypothesized that they could use cellular stress responses as a basis of a possible diagnosis. They took red blood cells from 20 healthy volunteers and 20 people with CFS and exposed them to salt-induced osmotic stress. Then, with the help of a network of nanoelectronic needles, they measured how the blood cells of a saline solution prevented an electrical current. There was a distinct difference in the electrical impedance of the cells. This suggests a diagnostic signature of the disease, although the authors are still working on the mechanism (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. UNITED STATES. 2019, DOI: 10.1073 / pnas.1901274116). Esfandyarpour and the Davis team also applied an automatic learning algorithm to the results to improve the potential diagnosis. The researchers said the test they had developed could also be used to screen for drugs for the treatment of ME / CFS.
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