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Researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine have identified a biomarker that they believe could help identify chronic fatigue syndrome through blood testing, providing relief to the millions of people living with this debilitating disease around the world.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME / CFS) is a poorly understood disease that lacks extensive diagnostic and treatment tools. The diagnosis often relies on symptoms such as exhaustion, sensitivity to light and unexplained pain, and only occurs after the elimination of another possible disease.
"Too often, this disease is considered imaginary," said author of the study, Ron Davis, in a statement. In general, people with ME / CFS undergo a series of tests that test for liver, kidney, and heart function, as well as the number of immune cells, but Davis says these measures are not doing enough. "All of these different tests should normally guide a doctor to one disease or another, but for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, the results are normal."
Although the study is still in its pilot phase, researchers say that their method can correctly identify whether a person is suffering from the disease based on the reaction of his immune cells to stress.
To do this, they took blood samples from 40 people (20 with ME / CFS and 20 without) and added salt to stress. They then used a technology called nanoelectronics assay, which measures tiny energy amount changes and serves as an indicator of the health of immune cells and blood plasma. Their diagnostic tool contains thousands of electrodes that create an electric current in the blood – the way it changes in response to this current is directly correlated to its health. The blood of people with ME / CFS had the most significant changes at the cellular level, indicating that their cells and plasma are not properly treating stress and tend to be under the plague. Blood collected from healthy participants returned to normal after only seeing a minor peak.
"We do not know exactly why cells and plasma act that way, or even what they do," Davis said. "But there is scientific evidence that this disease is not a fabrication of the patient's mind. We clearly see a difference in how healthy and chronic immune cells of fatigue syndrome treat stress. "
Davis notes that the work could help identify potential drugs to treat diseases. His team has already found a drug candidate that restores a healthy function of immune cells and plasma. Although he is not currently used to treat people, he hopes that a clinical trial will be possible in the future.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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