New research may create some respite for sufferers of two medically unexplained fatigue-inducing conditions: myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM). The conclusion, and the methods used to reach it, could inform how these and other conditions – such as multiple sclerosis, long COVID, Alzheimer’s and post-treatment Lyme disease – are diagnosed and treated.
“Using mass spectrometry to analyze spinal fluid, the liquid that bathes the brain, we found that these two illnesses may fall along a common disease spectrum,” said Steven Schutzer, a professor of medicine at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and lead author of the study published in the Annals of Medicine. “The results have implications for how the conditions can be investigated, while the technique may help advance treatment approaches with these diseases, and many others,” Schutzer said. To read the full story.