ME is in the genes not in the mind, say scientists

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ME is in the genes not in the mind, say scientists
By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent
(Filed: 21/07/2005)

The belief that chronic fatigue syndrome is "all in the mind" may finally have been laid to rest with the discovery that sufferers have biological abnormalities, researchers claim today.

The illness makes sufferers feel exhausted. The symptoms, which include weakness, headaches, disrupted sleep patterns and a difficulty in concentrating, have been likened to a bad hangover.

A team led by Dr Jonathan Kerr, from Imperial College London, has made a breakthrough in research on the illness, which could lead to a blood test for the disorder and drugs to treat it. The research, due to be published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology next month, shows "clear physical changes" in fatigue syndrome sufferers.

Dr Kerr's team discovered that their white blood cells behaved differently from the cells of non-sufferers. Several cell genes seem to show signs that continuing viral infection is the cause of the condition.

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