&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "It's not just in the mind - Blood test and treatment for chronic fatigue might become a reality")
A team of scientists set out to understand the reasons behind extreme and long-lasting fatigue, especially in the context of long Covid, PTSD, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. They found that all of these conditions change something in the genes, which causes parts of our bodies’ systems to behave in different ways. This causes chronic fatigue. The findings show that fatigue is not merely a psychological or "deconditioning" symptom, but is instead a distinct neuro-immune response driven by central nervous system mechanisms.
Pshezhetskiy, a clinician and an academic who researches epigenetics at the University of East Anglia, UK, told The Times that people suffering from ME/chronic fatigue syndrome often go without a diagnosis for years and are told there is nothing wrong with them. His team studied a large digital database of genomes of people who had suffered from any one of the above conditions. They noticed similar epigenetic changes in different genes.
This had a common effect on all of them. Their biological systems linked to energy production, metabolic regulation and stress response had been disrupted. Irrespective of the condition the person had suffered, the dysregulation led to chronic exhaustion in all of them.
A flipped switch in the genes caused fatigue
With the Beyond Genes study, the researchers for the first time saw epigenetic reasons for fatigue in people lay in their "biological architecture". They are confident that now that they have seen it, it is possible to create a blood test to check for chronic fatigue. This would also change how these conditions are treated and the associated attitudes toward them.
Tests and treatment for fatigue
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“The fatigue in all five conditions seems to be tied to some of the same broader biological systems", and this could help in the development of a treatment to treat fatigue, says Dan Turner, chief technology officer at Oxford BioDynamics, a biotech and medical testing firm that helped with 3D genome analysis for the study.
While blood tests and treatment for fatigue might still be far away, the study will help change how people perceive conditions like ME/CFS or PTSD. They are not just creations of the brain, as most people are told, but the result of biological changes, as shown in the study.
