Newswise, June 30, 2016— Physicians have been mystified by
chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition where normal exertion leads to
debilitating fatigue that isn’t alleviated by rest. There are no known
triggers, and diagnosis requires lengthy tests administered by an expert.
Now, for the first time, Cornell University researchers report
they have identified biological markers of the disease in gut bacteria and
inflammatory microbial agents in the blood.
In a study published June 23 in the journalMicrobiome,
the team describes how they correctly diagnosed myalgic
encephalomyeletis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in 83 percent of patients
through stool samples and blood work, offering a noninvasive diagnosis and a
step toward understanding the cause of the disease.
“Our work demonstrates that the gut bacterial microbiome in
chronic fatigue syndrome patients isn’t normal, perhaps leading to
gastrointestinal and inflammatory symptoms in victims of the disease,” said
Maureen Hanson, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of
Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell and the paper’s senior author.
“Furthermore, our detection of a biological abnormality
provides further evidence against the ridiculous concept that the disease is
psychological in origin.”
“In the future, we could see this technique as a complement to
other noninvasive diagnoses, but if we have a better idea of what is going on
with these gut microbes and patients, maybe clinicians could consider changing
diets, using prebiotics such as dietary fibers or probiotics to help treat the
disease,” said Ludovic Giloteaux, a postdoctoral researcher and first author of
the study.
In the study, Ithaca campus researchers collaborated with Dr.
Susan Levine, an ME/CFS specialist in New York City, who recruited 48 people
diagnosed with ME/CFS and 39 healthy controls to provide stool and blood
samples.
The researchers sequenced regions of microbial DNA from the
stool samples to identify different types of bacteria.
Overall, the diversity of types of bacteria was greatly
reduced and there were fewer bacterial species known to be anti-inflammatory in
ME/CFS patients compared with healthy people, an observation also seen in
people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
At the same time, the researchers discovered specific markers
of inflammation in the blood, likely due to a leaky gut from intestinal
problems that allow bacteria to enter the blood, Giloteaux said.
Bacteria in the blood will trigger an immune response, which
could worsen symptoms.
The researchers have no evidence to distinguish whether the
altered gut microbiome is a cause or a whether it is a consequence of disease,
Giloteaux added.
In the future, the research team will look for evidence of
viruses and fungi in the gut, to see whether one of these or an association of
these along with bacteria may be causing or contributing to the illness.
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
