Researchers seek to develop noninvasive diagnostics for chronic fatigue syndrome

There is no known cause or cure for CFS, which affects an estimated 3.3 million people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There's also no specific diagnostic test.

Xuanhong Cheng, Lehigh University researcher, professor of bioengineering and materials science and engineering in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied ScienceIt's a mysterious disease. There are no single biological indicators that can be used to diagnose chronic fatigue syndrome, and so doctors are forced to diagnose individuals by ruling out other symptoms and conditions."

"We'll try to see whether those signatures are specific enough for us to diagnose the disease," she says.

Electrical measurements could become a valuable diagnostic tool because they are easier and less expensive than molecular analysis. However, the researchers must first establish how these electrical changes correlate with underlying molecular abnormalities, which will be revealed through the work of the other team members.

By integrating their data, the team hopes to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how CFS affects muscles and determine whether such changes could be used as diagnostic markers or therapeutic targets.

Additionally, by pinpointing the molecular changes that contribute to the disease, the team hopes to eventually explore therapeutic strategies, which could, for instance, alleviate oxidative stress and improve patients' symptoms.

While such advances are a long way off, any progress will be welcome news to the millions who suffer from a disease that has long been misunderstood-;and often maligned.

"Because CFS has been so poorly understood, the people who have it were sometimes called lazy, or told their symptoms were all in their head," says Cheng. "I think long COVID has, unfortunately, made people more aware that these symptoms are actually very real, and they can arise after a viral infection. We're happy to see that change in thinking, and we're looking forward to helping these people restore their health."

Source:

Lehigh University