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Canada News.Net
2 hours ago
- Health
- Canada News.Net
Chronic fatigue gene study hailed as breakthrough in UK research
LONDON, U.K.: A significant new study from the University of Edinburgh has found genetic differences in people with chronic fatigue syndrome, offering the strongest evidence yet that the condition has a biological basis. The research, part of the DecodeME project, identified eight regions of the genome that differ between individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and those without. The team says the findings help counter long-standing misconceptions that ME/CFS is psychological or caused by laziness. The results offer "the first robust evidence that genes contribute to a person's chance of developing the disease," the researchers said in a statement. ME/CFS affects an estimated 67 million people globally and is characterized by extreme fatigue, cognitive impairment ("brain fog"), and worsening symptoms after even mild physical or mental exertion. There is currently no diagnostic test or cure. The study analyzed DNA samples from 15,579 people who self-reported ME/CFS symptoms and 259,909 people without, all of European ancestry. Researchers found that several gene variants were more common in the ME/CFS group, particularly those linked to the immune and nervous systems. At least two of the regions are tied to the body's response to infection—supporting reports that ME/CFS symptoms often follow an infectious illness. Another region has been linked to chronic pain, which is also common among people with the condition. "These results will not mean that a test or cure will be developed straight away, but they will lead to a greater understanding," said researcher Andy Devereux-Cooke. "They should prove game-changing in the ME/CFS research field." While the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, it has been hailed as a milestone by patients and scientists alike. Some experts noted limitations, particularly the reliance on self-reported cases rather than formal clinical diagnoses. They called for larger follow-up studies to confirm the findings. "This will take considerable investment in academia and by industry," said Dr. Jackie Cliff, an ME/CFS researcher at Brunel University of London, adding that more work is needed to turn the findings into treatments.
New York Post
2 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Debilitating illness once dismissed as ‘yuppie flu' actually has genetic causes: study
Tired all the time? It might be in your DNA. A new study has uncovered striking genetic differences in people suffering from a devastating illness that causes extreme exhaustion, chronic pain and brain fog that can last for months, years or even decades. Researchers are calling the discovery a 'wakeup call' that could finally shift public perception of the poorly understood condition, once dismissed as a 'fashionable form of hypochondria' and labeled the 'yuppie flu' by doctors, despite its often debilitating effects. 3 The condition disproportionately affects women around the world. Maridav – Chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME/CFS, is believed to affect 67 million people worldwide — including an estimated 3.3 million Americans. Until recently, little was known about what causes the crippling illness, which can turn a short walk into a major flare-up that leaves many patients bedbound with symptoms that rest doesn't relieve. For years, doctors categorized ME/CFS as a psychosomatic issue rather than a physical disorder. But a growing body of research, including the latest genetic findings, suggests there is a clear biological basis. 'ME/CFS is a serious illness and we now know that someone's genetics can tip the balance on whether they are diagnosed with it,' Dr. Chris Ponting, lead investigator at the University of Edinburgh, said in a statement. The study analyzed DNA samples from more than 15,500 people of European ancestry with ME/CFS as part of DecodeME, the world's largest dataset on the disease. Researchers found eight key regions of DNA where differences were far more common in ME/CFS patients than in the general population. 3 Human DNA may hold clues to why some people develop ME/CFS. vitstudio – Two of those DNA signals are linked to the body's response to infection, aligning with frequent patient reports that symptoms began after recovering from an infectious illness. Another genetic marker overlaps with chronic pain — a common complaint among ME/CFS sufferers. 'As DNA doesn't change with ME/CFS onset, these findings reflect causes rather than effects of ME/CFS,' the researchers wrote. 'These results are groundbreaking,' said Sonya Chowdhury, CEO of the charity Action for ME and DecodeME co-investigator. 'We've gone from knowing almost nothing about ME/CFS causes to pinpointing clear targets for research.' While researchers say the findings are not yet ready to guide diagnosis or treatment, they provide vital clues about the disease's origins and could pave the way for future breakthroughs. 3 Many people with ME/CFS say their symptoms first appeared after recovering from a viral illness. LuneVA/ – 'We are shining a laser light on eight precise areas of DNA, so that highly focused research can now be carried out,' Chowdhury said. 'We hope this attracts researchers, drug developers, and proportionate funding to ME/CFS — and speeds up the discovery of treatments.' Currently, there is no diagnostic test, effective treatment, or cure for ME/CFS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Instead, doctors typically focus on relieving symptoms through interventions such as medication, stretching and movement therapies, acupuncture, or massage. They may also recommend lifestyle strategies such as pacing, a method that helps ME/CFS patients manage their activity levels to reduce the frequency and severity of relapses while staying as active as possible. The study is currently a preprint from the University of Edinburgh and has not been peer-reviewed yet. The DecodeME team is urging researchers worldwide to tap into their dataset and launch new, targeted studies on ME/CFS, especially around these eight newly identified genetic signals.
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Study Finds Genetics Could Cause This Chronic Condition
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new study has revealed that those with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) have notable genetic differences from the general population. The DecodeME research team, led by experts at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, noted that, as DNA does not change following an onset of ME/CFS, the findings indicate that genetic signals may be a cause of the condition. "This is the first robust genetic evidence that there is a predisposition to ME/CFS written into our DNA," Chris Ponting, principal investigator of the study, chair of Medical Bioinformatics and investigator at the MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, at the University of Edinburgh, told Newsweek. "For years, people with ME/CFS have felt dismissed and their symptoms ignored," he said. DecodeME has been investigating many other diseases over the last 15 years, and Ponting said that, "in this sense, DecodeME has come 15 years too late." "ME/CFS research and people with ME/CFS should have had the benefit of its approach over all those intervening years," he said. "We think it's been delayed because ME/CFS is a highly stigmatized disease, and because it is highly biased towards women," he added, saying that now, DecodeME's research "puts ME/CFS on a more equal footing with other research and provides a clear map of where future research should now be focused." Stock image of a woman in pain lying in bed. Stock image of a woman in pain lying in Is ME/CFS? ME/CFS is a long-term condition that can affect different parts of the body, resulting in a wide range of debilitating symptoms. The most commonly recognized symptom is extreme fatigue, a degree of fatigue that far exceeds tiredness, which can limit a patient's ability to carry out daily activities, work and exercise, while also causing sleep problems like insomnia or non-restorative sleep. Other symptoms include cognitive issues and difficulty, affecting concentration and memory, as well as headaches, joint and muscle aches, flu-like symptoms, and many others. Many patients also notice their symptoms worsen following physical, mental or emotional exertion, which is known as post-exertional malaise, or PEM, and patients can take days to weeks to recover from these flares in symptoms. Depending on the severity of the condition, even a short walk or other activities that might seem insignificant to someone without the condition could trigger major flares in symptoms. The condition, therefore, has a profound impact on a patient's life, leaving many bedbound and others significantly limited in what they can do in a day. Tens of millions worldwide have the condition, with estimates on U.S. prevalence varying between just less than a million to 1.5 million, according to the American Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society. It typically affects more women than men, and in most cases starts following an infection, with the COVID pandemic increasing the number of cases, according to a January 2025 study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. However, the condition can be easily misdiagnosed, according to ME Research UK, making it difficult to know the exact number of those with the illness. What Did the Study Find? The DecodeME study found eight different genetic signals between those with ME/CFS and those without. The researchers analyzed 15,579 DNA samples of those with ME/CFS and the DNA of 259,909 people without ME/CFS, all of European descent. The eight genetic signals found to be different between ME/CFS patients and those without the condition were involved in both the immune and the nervous systems, which the researchers said suggested there are immunological and neurological causes behind the illness. There were also at least two signals found to relate to the body's response to infection. "Finding variations in genes that differ between people with or without a disease can therefore point to what causes it," the researchers wrote. However, the researchers noted that as these differences can also be found in people without ME/CFS, the findings cannot "cleanly separate who is at risk and who is not, and therefore do not provide a definitive test." There was also no clear explanation found as to why more women than men get the condition, the researchers added. "The initial results of this huge study are ground breaking," Julia Newton, a consultant physician specializing in fatigue at the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals and a medical director of the Academic Health Science Network in North East and North Cumbria, England, told Newsweek. "The research team from Edinburgh have shown that those with a diagnosis of ME/CFS have differences in their genes which suggests that there may be a biological abnormality in individuals that could make them more susceptible to getting ME/CFS or to having persistent disease," Newton, who was not involved in the study, said. File photo: participants walk through Frankfurt city center during a demonstration to support people with myalgic encephalomyelitis and/or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and to call for more research into the disease. File photo: participants walk through Frankfurt city center during a demonstration to support people with myalgic encephalomyelitis and/or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and to call for more research into the disease. Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP The 'Stigma' Around ME/CFS When ME/CFS was first described 40 years ago, "the usual laboratory tests ordered by doctors came back normal," Dr. Anthony Komaroff, a professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School and a senior physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital not involved in the study, told Newsweek. "This led some doctors to claim the illness was psychological, and that there were no underlying objective abnormalities," he said. He said that some still hold that view because, "in my opinion, they have not bothered to keep up with the science." "In fact, we now know there are multiple underlying abnormalities involving the brain, immune system, energy metabolism, vascular system, and gut microbiome," he said. "The DecodeME study provides additional evidence that ME/CFS is not primarily a psychological illness," he added. In light of that, Newton said that the findings are a "game changer for our understanding of the disease and also its perception." "For decades, those with ME/CFS have been stigmatized and confirming a genetic difference in those with the condition vindicates the struggle that the ME/CFS community has had, to recognize ME/CFS as a physical condition that impacts individuals with the same, or greater, severity as other chronic medical conditions," she said. Importantly, the researchers note that their findings reveal "no evidence that the eight ME/CFS genetic signals share common causal genetic variants with depression or anxiety," affirming that, despite the misconception, the disease is not psychological. "ME/CFS has often been misdiagnosed as depression or anxiety," Ponting said. "We checked whether DecodeME's eight genetic signals had been found before for other diseases, but drew a blank." Sir Simon Wessely, a professor of psychological medicine at King's College London told Newsweek that there is already "ample evidence that ME/CFS is not the same as depression, but that previous depression increases the risk of developing ME/CFS, which needs explaining, and I would be surprised if genetics does not play some part in this." He said that while it is understood ME/CFS is not an anxiety disorder, "anxiety can impede recovery." "The fact that ME/CFS involves both excessive physical and mental fatigue and fatiguability after both physical and mental exertion already tells us that the causes are most likely to be central, i.e., the brain, rather than peripheral—these new findings reinforce that, but we are still a long way from knowing why," he said. "Unravelling multigenic and multi factorial conditions such as ME/CFS is going to be a long haul, as those who have been researching the genetics of psychiatric disorders have already found out," he added. What Does This Mean For ME/CFS Treatment? "We've always said that DecodeME results will not lead directly to new treatments or diagnostic tools," Ponting said. "Rather, what they do is guide where further research needs to be focused." He said that scientists from around the world now need to "use their expertise to find out exactly what DecodeME's genetic signals mean and this, in turn, should help accelerate finding treatments for ME/CFS." Ponting said that some people with ME/CFS have informed DecodeME that the results have been "validating." "They tell us that these results will help them in conversations with medical professionals, family and friends, to be believed, taken seriously and to obtain support," he said. "Many also tell us that they are giving them hope, where there has been none before, and are lifting the burden from their shoulders of the guilt and self-doubt that they have built up from not being believed," he added. Komaroff said that he expected the DecodeME study "will increase research into the specific problems with the brain and immune system in people with ME/CFS, and this research may then lead to identifying possible new treatments." "I would like to think that it will generate even more interest in the scientific community to study the underlying biology of the illness, and more funding for those studies," he added. Newton said the findings "point towards potential targets for further study and then ultimately focused treatments." "I sincerely hope that this study, resets the narrative around ME/CFS, encourages further research in this debilitating disease and begins the path towards effective, evidence based treatments," she said. She added that "there is a long road ahead but I am optimistic that this is the start of a journey that will improve the lives of those with ME/CFS and perhaps even eradicate it."
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
UK scientists find genes linked with chronic fatigue syndrome
London: Researchers at the University of Edinburgh said on Wednesday they have discovered differences in the DNA of people with chronic fatigue syndrome that should help dispel the notion that the debilitating condition is psychological or driven by laziness. Their study found eight areas of genetic code that are different in people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) than in healthy volunteers. The finding provides "the first robust evidence that genes contribute to a person's chance of developing the disease," the researchers said in a statement. The key features of the condition include worsening of fatigue, pain and brain fog after even minor physical or mental activity. Very little has been known about the causes of ME/CFS, and there is no diagnostic test or cure. The condition is believed to affect around 67 million people worldwide, the researchers said. The DecodeME study analyzed DNA samples from 15,579 people who reported having chronic fatigue on a questionnaire and 259,909 people without it, all of European descent. Gene variants that were more common in people reporting ME/CFS were linked to the immune and nervous systems, according to a report of the study that has not yet been peer-reviewed. At least two of the gene regions relate to how the body responds to infection, which aligns with reports that the symptoms often start after an infectious illness, the researchers said. Another gene region has previously been identified in people with chronic pain, another common symptom of the condition. The findings "align with decades of patients reporting on their experiences," researcher Andy Devereux-Cooke said in a statement, adding that they "should prove game changing in the ME/CFS research field." "These results will not mean that a test or cure will be developed straight away, but they will lead to a greater understanding," he said. Scientists who were not involved in the study said using volunteers who self-reported chronic fatigue syndrome rather than restricting participation to those with a diagnosis from a medical professional somewhat weakened its conclusions. They called for larger studies to replicate the results. Substantial work will be necessary "to translate these findings into new treatments," said Dr. Jackie Cliff, who studies infection and immunity in ME/CFS at Brunel University of London. "This will take considerable investment in academia and by industry."
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Study shows genes contribute to chance of developing debilitating disease
A new study, DecodeME, has found significant DNA differences in people with ME / chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), offering the first robust evidence that genes contribute to developing the serious disease. Researchers identified eight distinct areas of genetic code in ME/CFS patients that are markedly different from those without the condition, primarily involving genes linked to the immune and nervous systems. At least two of the genetic signals relate to how the body responds to infection, aligning with long-standing patient reports that the onset of ME/CFS symptoms often follows an infectious illness. The findings are expected to boost credibility for ME/CFS patients, helping to rebuff the stigma and lack of belief often associated with the condition. The DecodeME study, described as the world's largest of its kind, analysed DNA samples from over 15,000 participants. The key genetic difference ME sufferers have from others – and what it means
