By Nathan Collins
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome affects one million Americans, according to recent estimates. Yet there’s no reliable lab test for the illness, and researchers are still struggling to understand why and how the disease develops. That situation may soon improve, as researchers have found key disruptions in the immune systems of patients who’ve had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome fewer than three years, a discovery that could open the door to new tests and more individually tailored treatments for the debilitating illness.
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While the latest report compares people with early-stage ME/CFS to those in later stages, the team is working on tracking individuals with the disease as it develops over time. That will help researchers understand whether ME/CFS develops similarly across all patients, and it might help reveal treatments aimed at resetting the immune system to it’s natural state. “We’re eager to keep forging on,” Hornig says.
