They create a very accurate protocol for assessing chronic fatigue syndrome.

2024/09/20 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Berdintasuna

A specific protocol has been developed for the evaluation of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. In fact, patients have a wide variety of symptoms, so the study has managed to clinically characterize the symptoms and create subgroups. The study was led by the UPV/EHU researcher Iñigo Murga Gandasegi and has been published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry. The work has received the Extraordinary Doctoral Prize (2023/2024) as part of the PhD program in Neurosciences.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a neurological syndrome that affects several organic systems and generates permanent and unexplained fatigue, with any small physical or mental effort. It is a complex pathology of unknown origin that generates disability and loss of well-being. It affects women more than men, especially those of childbearing age, but it can also occur in childhood.

It is considered a rare or infrequent disease, and its diagnosis requires an average of five years. In addition, Basque public health does not have specialized units and patients have to travel to Catalonia.

In this study, the functions of the autonomic nervous system have been evaluated and the values of the autoantibodies in the blood have been determined to know the neurological and immune compromise of the disease. The protocol they have created will help to diagnose patients sooner and better and to differentiate them from other conditions. For example, it is very similar to post-COVID-19 syndrome, so they have warned that more research is needed if it is the same or two syndromes.