Scientists close to uncover the causes of
chronic fatigue
US scientists say they have taken a step toward developing a diagnostic test for chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition of exhaustion and other fatigue symptoms.
The Stanford University School of Medicine said a pilot study of 40 people, half of them healthy and half of whom had symptoms of the syndrome, showed that the ongoing testing of biomarkers had correctly identified patients.
It is estimated that chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myocardial encephalitis, affects about 2.5 million people in the United States and about 17 million worldwide.
Symptoms include excessive exhaustion, joint pain, headache and sleep problems. No reason or diagnosis has yet been identified for this condition that patients may have to stay in bed or at home for years.
The research, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, included analysis of volunteers' blood samples using a nano-electronic scale measure that measures changes in small amounts of energy as evidence of the health of immune cells and plasma.
The scientists "stressed" salt samples of blood and then compared the responses. The results showed that blood samples of all patients with chronic fatigue syndrome showed a significant rise on the scale and healthy samples remained relatively stable.
"We do not know exactly why cells and plasma behave like this and we do not even know what to do," said Ron Davis, a professor of organic chemistry and genetics.
"But we see a marked difference in how healthy cells and patient cells treat chronic fatigue syndrome with stress," he said. Other experts who did not directly participate in the study cautioned that their findings show that there is still a long way to go to find a measure that can diagnose chronic fatigue and differentiate it from other similar symptoms.
Simon Wesley, head of psychiatry at the London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery at King's College, University of London, said the study was the latest in many attempts to find a measure of chronic fatigue syndrome but failed to resolve two major problems:
"The first is, can any measure differentiate between patients with chronic fatigue syndrome or any other exhaustion symptoms?" He said in an e-mail comment. "Does this measure measure the cause of the disease, not its outcome?" "This study does not provide any evidence of any solution."
It is estimated that chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myocardial encephalitis, affects about 2.5 million people in the United States and about 17 million worldwide.
Symptoms include excessive exhaustion, joint pain, headache and sleep problems. No reason or diagnosis has yet been identified for this condition that patients may have to stay in bed or at home for years.
The research, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, included analysis of volunteers' blood samples using a nano-electronic scale measure that measures changes in small amounts of energy as evidence of the health of immune cells and plasma.
The scientists "stressed" salt samples of blood and then compared the responses. The results showed that blood samples of all patients with chronic fatigue syndrome showed a significant rise on the scale and healthy samples remained relatively stable.
"We do not know exactly why cells and plasma behave like this and we do not even know what to do," said Ron Davis, a professor of organic chemistry and genetics.
"But we see a marked difference in how healthy cells and patient cells treat chronic fatigue syndrome with stress," he said. Other experts who did not directly participate in the study cautioned that their findings show that there is still a long way to go to find a measure that can diagnose chronic fatigue and differentiate it from other similar symptoms.
Simon Wesley, head of psychiatry at the London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery at King's College, University of London, said the study was the latest in many attempts to find a measure of chronic fatigue syndrome but failed to resolve two major problems:
"The first is, can any measure differentiate between patients with chronic fatigue syndrome or any other exhaustion symptoms?" He said in an e-mail comment. "Does this measure measure the cause of the disease, not its outcome?" "This study does not provide any evidence of any solution."
0 Comments