You’re Going to Want to Show This to Everyone Who Says Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Isn’t Real.

A study linked myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) to markers of inflammation in the blood.

This often-doubted condition has a real, biological basis and may be diagnosable with blood test.

After analyzing 51 proteins found in blood (cytokines), two were much different in those with ME/CFS.

Among those with the condition, levels of 17 cytokines varied based on symptom severity.

Of those, 13 were found to be “Pro-Inflammatory,” suggesting inflammation drives ME/CFS.

This connection may explain many of the symptoms which are often described as “Flulike.”

The study also shed light on a possible reason why more women have ME/CFS than men.

Women tend to have more leptin, one of the cytokines associated with disease severity.

Researchers say their findings could lead to a diagnostic blood test as well as pave the way for future treatments.

More research is needed to establish any cause and effect between these cytokines and ME/CFS.

“I have seen the horrors of this disease, multiplied by hundreds of patients.”

“It’s been observed and talked about for 35 years now, sometimes with the bonus of being described as a psychological condition.”

“But chronic fatigue syndrome is by no means a figment of the imagination. This is Real.”

-Dr. Jose Montoya, lead study author, oversees the Stanford ME/CFS initiative