New blood test could aid ME/CFS diagnosis, UK researchers report

UK researchers have developed a blood test for myalgic encephalomyelitis based on a unique signature of gene expression.

An early study in 47 patients with severe ME/CFS and 61 healthy controls found the epigenetic profile test – which looks at how DNA is folded – to be highly sensitive and specific.

The work also implicated several pathways related to immune and inflammatory regulation that point to new areas of research for targeted therapies.

But experts said far more work was needed to test the findings in larger populations, including those with mild and moderate ME/CFS, and how it compared to those with other chronic inflammatory or autoimmune conditions.

The team at the University of East Anglia and Oxford Biodynamics explained that while many possible markers have been identified in ME/CFS, developing a test has proved difficult because people with the condition often have such a diverse range of symptoms.

Immune dysregulation discovered