---
title: "We Might Be Closer to a Lab Test for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"
description: "It could lead to a diagnostic laboratory test for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, ME/CFS, and possibly the first treatment ever devised."
date: "2017-08-03"
modified: "2017-08-03"
authors:
  - name: "Karla Lant"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/karla"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/we-might-be-closer-to-a-lab-test-for-chronic-fatigue-syndrome"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "me/cfs"
  - "medicine"
  - "myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome"
---

# We Might Be Closer to a Lab Test for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/GettyImages-485841736.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="http://www.gettyimages.ca/license/485841736" target="\_blank"\>Poike/Getty Images\</a\>\</em\>*

## Nailing Down Diagnostics

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS, affects at least one million Americans. The illness causes sufferers to feel incredibly sick with flu-like symptoms and a deadening sense of fatigue; one that sleep and rest never seems to banish entirely. Now, researchers from Stanford University may have found the key to creating a diagnostic laboratory test for the illness, and possibly the first treatment ever devised.

Symptoms of ME/CFS range from mild to disabling. Around one-quarter of patients are so sick that they're confined to bed most or all of the time. [The new research](<http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/07/25/1710519114>) has uncovered a link between severity of symptoms and variations in multiple biological markers. The researchers [tracked links](<http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/07/31/540565526/scientists-edge-closer-to-elusive-lab-test-for-chronic-fatigue-syndrome>) between illness severity and specific cytokines, a kind of immune-signaling protein, rather than focusing on positive or negative results.

In the study of 192 ME/CFS patients and 392 controls, the concentrations of only two of 51 cytokines differed between the groups. However, the levels of 17 cytokines — 13 of which promote inflammation — varied dramatically between patients with mild and severe ME/CFS symptoms. This ties in with findings from previous studies which indicated that chronic inflammation plays a major role in ME/CFS. This research indicates that higher levels of inflammatory cytokines in the patient's blood correspond with more severe symptoms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvtbsStLQWk

## Applying The Findings

Routine lab tests can miss ME/CFS because what they generally test for (sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein) have not been definitively linked to the disease. The Stanford team is currently developing a commercial diagnostic panel that would assess five of the 17 cytokines. The test alone wouldn't be enough, however: interpretation of the results would rely heavily on a doctor's assessment of the severity of patient's symptoms.

The researchers are also hoping that their work will prompt others in the scientific community to pursue anti-inflammatory and immune-modifying therapies to treat ME/CFS. In recent years, the National Institutes of Health has [increased research funding for ME/CFS](<https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-takes-action-bolster-research-myalgic-encephalomyelitis/chronic-fatigue-syndrome>), and a major drug trial investigating the efficacy of modifying drug [rituximab for the treatment of ME/CFS](<http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/nih-double-funding-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-patient-distrust-remains>) is already underway in Norway.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlalant>)  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/KarlaLant>)