Study of blood samples reveal biomarkers, may help develop blood test for chronic fatigue syndrome
chronic fatigue syndrome
has revealed substances, or '
biomarkers
', indicating the condition -- a finding which is seen as a "concrete step" towards developing a diagnostic
blood test
.
Researchers from
Cornell University
, US, said that in the absence of lab tests for diagnosing the condition, doctors have to rely on patients reporting symptoms such as exhaustion, dizziness, disturbed sleep and 'brain fog'.
The team explained that when a cell dies, it leaves behind marks or "fingerprints" -- genetic material released into blood plasma, tissue injury and signs of other biological processes.
"By reading the molecular fingerprints that cells leave behind in blood, we've taken a concrete step toward a test for (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome)
ME/CFS
," said Iwijn De Vlaminck, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell University and co-senior author of the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"This study shows that a tube of blood can provide clues about the disease's biology," De Vlaminck said.
From blood samples collected from patients of chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy people, the researchers sequenced RNA particles in blood plasma released due to cell damage and death.
About 700 significant differences between the RNA material of the two study groups were found, revealing signs of a dysregulation in the immune system and exhaustion of T-cells (which help fight infections), among others, in patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome.
The results were also used in developing an artificial intelligence model, which "achieved an accuracy of 77 per cent" in detecting signs specific to chronic fatigue syndrome.
The accuracy rate may not be high enough for a
diagnostic test
yet, but it is a substantial leap forward in the field, the researchers said.
Chronic fatigue syndrome "affects a lot of different parts of the body. The nervous system, immune system, cardiovascular system. Analysing plasma gives you access to what's going on in those different parts," said co-senior author Maureen Hanson, professor in the department of molecular biology and genetics, Cornell University.
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