Biomedical Insights that Inform the Diagnosis of ME/CFS

• Main Author: Lidbury, Brett (auth)
• Other Authors: Fisher, Paul (auth)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
• Subjects: Medicine; fatigue syndrome; n/a; work rehabilitation; tryptophan metabolism; substrate inhibition; myalgic encephalomyelitis; 3-dioxygenase; ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis); assessment; myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS); muscles; hypoacetylation; circadian rhythm; immune system; chronic; CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome); energy metabolism; ME/CFS; immunological; cytokine; bistability; diagnosis; biomarker; symptoms; kynurenine pathway; inflammation and immunity; metabolism; neuro-inflammation; pathology; signaling; exercise; Epstein Barr virus; methylhistidine; hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; potential biomarkers; critical point; inflammation; histone deacetylation; participatory research; neurology; neuroimmune; activin; mitochondria; patient-driven questionnaire; medical retirement; machine learning; prognosis; gut microbiota; post-exertional malaise; chronic fatigue syndrome; mathematical model; reference intervals; diagnostic biomarker; indoleamine-2
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a severe chronic health condition that is often misunderstood or ignored by health establishments. The lack of definitive diagnostic markers to separate ME/CFS patients from the healthy population as well as from other chronic disorders is problematic for both health professionals and researchers. A consortium of Australian researchers gathered to systematically understand ME/CFS, ranging from a deep analysis of clinical and pathology data to metabolomic profiles and the investigation of mitochondrial function. From this broad collaboration, a number of compelling insights have arisen that may form the basis of specific serum, blood, and/or urinary biomarkers of ME/CFS. This Special Edition reports on a conference centred on these biomedical discoveries, with other contributions, with a translation focus for predictive markers for ME/CFS diagnosis. By supporting health professionals with developments in diagnostics for this condition, the patients and their families will hopefully benefit from an improved recognition of the biomedical underpinnings of the condition and will be better able to access the care that is urgently required. This Special Edition contains a mix of speaker submissions and other accepted manuscripts that contributed to our objective of advancing biomedical insights to enable the accurate diagnosis of ME/CFS.