Researcher
Prof. Chris Ponting
Institution
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Start date
September 2025
Funding
ME Research UK with the financial assistance of E M Thompson
Background
Developing an accurate and reliable diagnostic test for ME/CFS is one of the holy grails of research into this disease, and was identified as a priority by the ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership in 2022.
Prof. Chris Ponting and his team at the University of Edinburgh believe a promising diagnostic approach may be to measure the levels of different proteins in the blood, which can be done accurately and cheaply.
A blood test for ME/CFS needs to be relatively inexpensive and non-invasive, and be repeatable in order to measure responses to treatment.
In a previous study, the team identified more than two hundred proteins whose blood levels differed significantly between people with ME/CFS and control subjects without ME/CFS. Many of these were replicated and were significant both for females and males. and, importantly, could not be explained by inactivity.
While no single protein marker is sufficient on its own to distinguish between people with ME/CFS and those without, a combination of markers (or panel) might be used to form an effective diagnostic test.
Objectives
The aim of Prof. Ponting’s new study is therefore to develop a diagnostic test for ME/CFS based on the measurement of proteins in the blood.
- Is an ME/CFS biomarker panel feasible?
- Do these biomarkers reflect the mechanisms of ME/CFS or its downstream effects?
- What is the accuracy of this biomarker panel in individuals?
Blood samples from 67 people with ME/CFS and 53 healthy controls have already been collected and stored, and the researchers will measure the levels of around 1,100 proteins in plasma, the liquid component of blood.
Machine learning techniques will be used to classify the participants into those with and those without a diagnosis of ME/CFS, based on their blood measurements, and also to quantify the uncertainty of these predictions.
Potential benefits
The development of an accurate ME/CFS biomarker panel “would be transformational for people with ME/CFS, placing their disease on a par with more established, and better treated, diseases such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes”.
In addition, the findings of the study, when combined with the results of genetic studies, could help provide “a better understanding of disease mechanism, which improves future chances of finding an effective cure”.
