Prof. Elisa Oltra, Dr Karen Giménez-Orenga and colleagues at the University of Valencia have recently published more findings from their ME Research UK-funded study investigating human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) in ME/CFS.
Using high-density microarray technology, they assessed HERV expression profiles in immune cell samples from four groups of women: those with ME/CFS, fibromyalgia or both conditions, and healthy controls.
Remarkably, they found that the profiles generated could accurately distinguish between the four subject groups. The researchers believe these “HERV fingerprints” could therefore be valuable in the diagnosis of ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, but they need to replicate their findings in larger groups.
We will put a more detailed description of this study on our website in due course.
