ME diagnosis can be confirmed with simple blood test

Researchers have developed a revolutionary high accuracy blood test to diagnose chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS).

It is hoped that the breakthrough could pave the way for a similar blood test to diagnose long COVID.

ME/CFS is a debilitating long-term illness which affects more than 400,000 sufferers in the UK.

But it is poorly understood and has long lacked reliable diagnostic tools. Some patients report being ignored or even told that their illness is ‘all in their head’

With no definitive tests, many patients have gone undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years.

With 96% accuracy, the new test offers hope for those living with the condition.

Lead researcher Professor Dmitry Pshezhetskiy, from University of East Anglia's Norwich Medical School, said: ‘ME/CFS is a serious and often disabling illness characterised by extreme fatigue that is not relieved by rest.

‘We know that some patients report being ignored or even told that their illness is “all in their head”.

‘With no definitive tests, many patients have gone undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years.

Confirming a diagnosis could lead to earlier support and more effective management.

‘Understanding the biological pathways involved in ME/CFS opens the door to developing targeted treatments and identifying which patients might benefit most from specific therapies,’ Professor Pshezhetskiy said.

The research was led by UEA and Oxford BioDynamics in collaboration with The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. The researchers hope that the same technology could also be developed to investigate post-COVID syndrome, commonly referred to as long COVID, where a similar cluster of symptoms is triggered by the COVID-19 virus, rather than by other known causes such as glandular fever.