{"id":323863,"date":"2025-08-07T00:34:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T00:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/323863\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T00:34:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T00:34:18","slug":"people-with-me-have-key-genetic-differences-to-other-people-study-finds-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/323863\/","title":{"rendered":"People with ME have key genetic differences to other people, study finds \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

People diagnosed with ME\/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have significant differences in their DNA compared to those without the condition, according to a \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d new study.<\/p>\n

Scientists said the findings offer the first robust evidence that genes contribute to a person\u2019s chance of developing the disease.<\/p>\n

The DecodeME study, said to be the largest of its kind in the world, uncovered eight areas of genetic code in people with ME\/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis\/chronic fatigue syndrome) that are markedly different to the DNA of people without the condition.<\/p>\n

Researchers hope the findings will boost \u201cvalidity and credibility\u201d for patients, and help rebuff some of the stigma and lack of belief that exists around the condition.<\/p>\n

\"Mickey<\/a>\"Chagos<\/a><\/p>\n

There is currently no diagnostic test or cure for ME\/CFS, which is believed to affect around 67 million people worldwide, and very little is known about what causes it.<\/p>\n

A key feature of the condition is a disproportionate worsening of symptoms following even minor physical or mental activity, which is known as post-exertional malaise (PEM,) while other symptoms include pain, brain fog and extreme energy limitations that do not improve with rest.<\/p>\n

For the new study, researchers analysed 15,579 DNA samples from the 27,000 people with ME\/CFS participating in DecodeME, described as the world\u2019s largest data set of people with the disease.<\/p>\n

The eight regions of DNA where scientists found genetic differences involve genes linked to the immune and nervous systems.<\/p>\n

At least two of the genetic signals relate to how the body responds to infection, which researchers said aligns with long-standing patient reports that the onset of symptoms often followed an infectious illness.<\/p>\n

Professor Chris Ponting, DecodeME investigator from the University of Edinburgh, said: \u201cThis is a wake-up call. These extraordinary DNA results speak the language of ME\/CFS, often recounting people\u2019s ME\/CFS symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecodeME\u2019s eight genetic signals reveal much about why infection triggers ME\/CFS and why pain is a common symptom.<\/p>\n

\u201cME\/CFS is a serious illness and we now know that someone\u2019s genetics can tip the balance on whether they are diagnosed with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a person\u2019s DNA does not change over time, experts say the genetic signals identified would not have developed because of ME\/CFS and are therefore likely to reflect the causes of the disease.<\/p>\n

Populations used in the initial study were limited to those from European ancestries.<\/p>\n

DecodeME research studying DNA data from all ancestries is ongoing.<\/p>\n

ME\/CFS, thought to affect around 404,000 people in the UK, affects more females than males, although researchers found nothing to explain why this is the case.<\/p>\n

The DecodeME team is now calling on researchers from around the world to access its \u201crich\u201d dataset and help drive forward targeted studies into ME\/CFS.<\/p>\n

Sonya Chowdhury, chief executive of Action for ME and a DecodeME co-investigator, said: \u201cThese results are groundbreaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith DecodeME, we have gone from knowing next to nothing about the causes of ME\/CFS, to giving researchers clear targets.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also hopes the discoveries will help change the way the condition is viewed.<\/p>\n

Ms Chowdhury said: \u201cThis really adds validity and credibility for people with ME.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that many people have experienced comments like ME is not real, or they\u2019ve been to doctors and been disbelieved or told that it\u2019s not a real illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhilst things have changed and continue to change, that is still the case for some people and we hear that repeatedly as a charity.<\/p>\n

\"ResearchersResearchers at the University of Edinburgh are involved in the study (Jane Barlow\/PA) <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to take this study into the treatment room and say there are genetic causes that play a part in ME is going to be really significant for individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will rebuff that lack of belief and the stigma that exists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The findings have been reported in a pre-print publication, or unpublished study.<\/p>\n

During a media briefing about the study, researchers were asked about similarities between the symptoms of long Covid and ME\/CFS.<\/p>\n

Prof Ponting said: \u201cIt\u2019s very clear that the symptomology between long Covid and ME is highly similar.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot for everyone but there are substantial similarities but as a geneticist the key question for me is are there overlapping genetic factors, and we haven\u2019t found that in DECode ME with the methods that we\u2019ve employed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the key things that we\u2019re doing is enabling others to use their different approaches to ask and answer the same question.\u201d<\/p>\n

DecodeME is a collaboration between the University of Edinburgh, the charity Action for ME, the Forward ME alliance of charities, and people with ME\/CFS.<\/p>\n

It is funded by the Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health and Care Research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People diagnosed with ME\/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have significant differences in their DNA compared to those without the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,117011,1102,267,4884,105,502,22694,712,16,15,23411],"class_list":{"0":"post-323863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-decodeme","10":"tag-edinburgh","11":"tag-genetics","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-me-cfs","15":"tag-national-institute-for-health-and-care-research","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-university-of-edinburgh"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114984679349805825","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}