New Research Reveals Systemic Impact of ME/CFS for Targeted Therapies

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) affects millions globally, often leading to debilitating conditions that are frequently overlooked due to a lack of diagnostic tools. Recent findings from a collaborative study led by Dr. Julia Oh, former researcher at The Jackson Laboratory and now a microbiologist at Duke University, suggest that ME/CFS may be closer to receiving personalized treatments. The study reveals significant disruptions in interactions between the microbiome, immune system, and metabolism in affected individuals. The research is detailed in a paper published in *Nature Medicine* on July 26, 2025.

According to Dr. Derya Unutmaz, Professor of Immunology at The Jackson Laboratory, the study achieved an impressive 90% accuracy rate in differentiating individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome from healthy controls. "This is significant because doctors currently lack reliable biomarkers for diagnosis. Some physicians doubt it as a real disease due to the absence of clear laboratory markers, sometimes attributing it to psychological factors," Dr. Unutmaz stated.

The study analyzed data from 249 individuals, employing a new artificial intelligence platform known as BioMapAI, which identifies disease biomarkers from stool, blood, and other routine lab tests. Dr. Ruoyun Xiong, a lead author on the study, noted that the tool integrates various forms of biological data and clinical symptoms, providing a comprehensive overview of how ME/CFS manifests in patients.

Chronic fatigue syndrome presents a complex array of symptoms including persistent fatigue, sleep abnormalities, dizziness, and chronic pain. Experts often compare ME/CFS to long COVID due to their similar post-viral characteristics. In the U.S. alone, ME/CFS impacts between 836,000 and 3.3 million individuals, costing the economy between $18 to $51 billion annually, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The researchers linked microbiome disruptions to twelve classes of patient-reported symptoms, which were derived from extensive health and lifestyle surveys. "We integrated clinical symptoms with cutting-edge omics technologies to identify new biomarkers of ME/CFS," Dr. Oh explained, emphasizing the importance of mapping these complex interactions.

The study utilized comprehensive data collected from the Bateman Horne Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, a leading research facility for ME/CFS, long COVID, and fibromyalgia. The findings indicate that immune cell analysis is the most accurate predictor of symptom severity, while microbiome data correlates best with gastrointestinal, emotional, and sleep disturbances. Notably, patients with ME/CFS exhibited lower levels of butyrate, a beneficial fatty acid produced in the gut, along with disruptions in metabolic pathways linked to inflammation and energy regulation.

Despite the need for further validation, these findings advance the understanding of ME/CFS and propose actionable hypotheses for future research. The researchers aim to share their dataset broadly, leveraging BioMapAI to support analyses across diverse symptoms and diseases, thereby enhancing the integration of multi-omics data which is challenging to replicate in animal models.

Dr. Oh concluded, "Our goal is to build a detailed map of how the immune system interacts with gut bacteria and the chemicals they produce. By connecting these dots, we can start to understand what drives the disease and pave the way for genuinely precise medicine that has long been out of reach."