In a new study, researchers have developed a new blood test that can detect chronic fatigue syndrome.
The new test may contribute to the early diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
The research was conducted by a team at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a debilitating and often discounted disease.
It’s estimated that 2 million people in the United States have chronic fatigue syndrome.
The main symptoms include exhaustion, sensitivity to light and unexplained pain.
Often the disease is categorized as imaginary, and patients need to do many medical tests which may be unnecessary.
The patients may have to check their liver, kidney and heart function, as well as blood and immune cell counts.
But these tests usually just give normal results and doctors cannot diagnose the disease.
In the current study, the team has created a new blood test that successfully identified participants with chronic fatigue syndrome.
The test is based on how a person’s immune cells respond to stress.
The researchers tested blood samples from 40 people, including 20 with chronic fatigue syndrome and 20 without, and found the test yielded precise results.
It accurately identified all chronic fatigue syndrome patients and none of the healthy individuals.
The new blood test may even help find possible drugs to treat chronic fatigue syndrome, according to the researchers.
For example, they could see whether the drug improved the immune cells’ response when they exposed the participants’ blood samples to drug candidates
Currently, the team is using the platform to screen for potential drugs. They hope to help patients get rid of chronic fatigue syndrome.
The lead author of the study is Rahim Esfandyarpour, Ph.D., a former Stanford research associate.
The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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