Work

Evaluation of four clinical laboratory parameters for the diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a complex and debilitating disease that often initially presents with flu-like symptoms, accompanied by incapacitating fatigue. Currently, there are no objective biomarkers or laboratory tests that can be used to unequivocally diagnosis ME; therefore, a diagnosis is made when a patient meets series of a costly and subjective inclusion and exclusion criteria. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the utility of four clinical parameters in diagnosing ME. In the present study, we utilized logistic regression and classification and regression tree analysis to conduct a retrospective investigation of four clinical laboratory in 140 ME cases and 140 healthy controls. Correlations between the covariates ranged between [− 0.26, 0.61]. The best model included the serum levels of the soluble form of CD14 (sCD14), serum levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE 2 ), and serum levels of interleukin 8, with coefficients 0.002, 0.249, and 0.005, respectively, and p-values of 3 × 10 −7 , 1 × 10 −5 , and 3 × 10 −3 , respectively. Our findings show that these parameters may help physicians in their diagnosis of ME and may additionally shed light on the pathophysiology of this disease.

Source: Journal of Translational Medicine

DOI: 10.1186/s12967-018-1696-z

Authors: Kenny L. De Meirleir, Tatjana Mijatovic, Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Karen A. Schlauch, Vincent C. Lombardi

Institutions: Desert Research Institute, University of Nevada, Reno

Language: English

Topic: Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,890