SCIENTISTS have developed a blood test they claim can diagnose chronic fatigue syndrome for the first time.
The condition – also known as ME – causes extreme tiredness, sensitivity to light and muscle or joint pain.
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But some critics have questioned whether the illness really exists because standard medical checks come back normal.
Now boffins from Stanford University, in the US, say their test “yielded precise results” when used on 20 patients with CFS and 20 without.
It involved measuring changes in tiny amounts of energy as an electrical current was passed through immune cells in the blood.
When researchers added salt to the cells in a bid to induce “stress”, only those from CFS patients created a clear spike in current.
‘Not a fabrication’
Study leader Prof Ron Davis said: “There is scientific evidence that this disease is not a fabrication of a patient’s mind.
“We clearly see a difference in the way healthy and chronic fatigue syndrome immune cells process stress.”
The academics are now testing different drugs to see if they prevent the electrical spike when added to CFS blood samples.
They have found one treatment that appeared to work and now hope to test it in clinical trials.
What are the signs and symptoms of chronic fatigue symptom (CFS)?
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a long-term illness with a wide range of symptoms. The most common symptom is extreme tiredness.
CFS is also known as ME, which stands for myalgic encephalomyelitis.
It can affect anyone, including children, but is more common in women, and tends to develop between your mid-20s and mid-40s.
As well as extreme tiredness, people may have other symptoms, including:
- sleep problems
- muscle or joint pain
- headaches
- a sore throat or sore glands that aren’t swollen
- problems thinking, remembering or concentrating
- flu-like symptoms
- feeling dizzy or sick
- fast or irregular heartbeats (heart palpitations)
Source: NHS
Around 250,000 Brits suffer from CFS but there is currently no specific test for it.
The condition is diagnosed on symptoms and by ruling out other similar illnesses.
It is not known what causes CFS but experts have suggested infections, mental health problems, and genes, among others.
‘More trials needed’
Prof Chris Ponting, from the University of Edinburgh, described the test as “exciting” but said trials are needed on more people.
And Prof Sir Simon Wessely, from King’s College London, warned the test is not conclusive.
He said: “There have been many previous attempts to find a specific biomarker for CFS.
“The problem is not differentiating patients with CFS from healthy controls. The issue is can any biomarker distinguish CFS patients from those with other fatiguing illnesses?
“And second, is it measuring the cause, and not the consequence, of illness?
“This study does not provide any evidence that either has finally been achieved.
“It is also regrettable that it is claimed that such a test would give ‘scientific proof’ of the existence of the condition, and prove it is ‘not imaginary’.
“You don’t need a blood test to prove that an illness exists, and nor does the absence of such a test mean that it is ‘all in the mind’.”
The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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