Senior author Maureen Hanson, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, said
“Our work demonstrates that the gut bacterial microbiome in ME/CFS patients isn’t normal, perhaps leading to gastrointestinal and inflammatory symptoms in victims of the disease. Furthermore, our detection of a biological abnormality provides further evidence against the ridiculous concept that the disease is psychological in origin.”
In a study published by the journal Microbiome, the team describes how they correctly diagnosed myalgic encephalomyeletis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in 83 percent of patients through stool samples and blood work, offering a noninvasive diagnosis and a step toward understanding the cause of the disease.
Ruth Ley, associate professor in the Departments of Molecular Biology and Genetics and Microbiology, is a co-author.
“In the future, we could see this technique as a complement to other noninvasive diagnoses, but if we have a better idea of what is going on with these gut microbes and patients, maybe clinicians could consider changing diets, using prebiotics such as dietary fibers or probiotics to help treat the disease,”
said Ludovic Giloteaux, a postdoctoral researcher in both Hanson’s and Ley’s labs and first author of the study.
Researchers have evidence that an overactive immune system plays a role in chronic fatigue. Symptoms include fatigue even after sleep, muscle and joint pain, migraines and gastrointestinal distress.