A simple blood test could offer first reliable diagnosis for ME

The only way to diagnose ME is by ruling out other illnesses, which can take years

Blood test for ME could show biomarkers for the condition (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A simple blood test could provide the first reliable diagnosis for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and end the lengthy process of trying to identify the debilitating condition, scientists have found.

It’s thought more than 400,000 people in the UK suffer with the condition, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Pain, brain fog and extreme low energy that does not improve with sleep are just some of the symptoms of ME. There is no cure and the cause is unknown.

Currently the only way to diagnose it is by ruling out other illnesses – a long process that can mean patients wait years for a diagnosis.

However, researchers at the University of Edinburgh believe they have made a breakthrough.

Pain, brain fog and extreme low energy that does not improve with sleep are just some of the symptoms of ME (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The study published in the Journal EMBO Molecular Medicine used data from the UK Biobank – a large-scale resource based on the health data and biological samples of 500,000 UK participants.

Researchers compared blood samples from 1,455 ME patients with more than 131,000 healthy people. They identified differences in cell counts and molecules that differed in concentrations between the two.

The differences in samples for the ME patients were related to chronic inflammation, insulin resistance and liver dysfunction.

These findings were compared and replicated in data from a group of American patients and healthy controls.

Researchers found 116 “biomarkers” for ME in the blood of men and women with the condition. This is a key finding because the condition affects men and women differently.

Professor Chris Ponting, of the university’s Institute of Genetics and Cancer, said: “For so long people with ME/CFS have been told it’s all in their head. It’s not. We see [it] in their blood.

“Evidence of a large number of replicated and diverse blood biomarkers that differentiate between ME/CFS cases and controls should dispel any lingering perception it is caused by deconditioning and exercise intolerance.”

These biomarkers did not change when the participants were any more active – consistent with the view graded exercise therapy, which aims to gradually increase activity levels, is unlikely to be helpful.

In fact, the largest differences were seen in people who reported post-exertional malaise. This is when the symptoms of the condition become worse even after minor physical effort.

Dr Sjoerd Beentjes, of the university’s School of Mathematics, said: “Blood differences are sometimes attributed to reduced activity levels rather than ME/CFS directly. Our study provides strong evidence ME/CFS affects blood traits through paths other than activity.”

However, this research is still at an early stage and there is no guarantee a test will be possible, study authors stressed.

Professor Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics, Open University, who was not part of the study, said: “There is a lot more to do.”

“These findings could help in finding a set of blood biomarkers that can reasonably reliably distinguish people with ME/CFS from those who do not have that condition, but that, without a lot of further work, the findings do not in themselves provide such a set of biomarkers,” he added.