Evaluation of four clinical laboratory parameters for the diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Published on: 21st November, 2018

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

PMID: 30463572

Abstract

Background: 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.

Methods: 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.

Conclusions: 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.