Saliva fatigue biomarker index as a marker for severe myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome in a community based sample, by Leonard A Jason, John Kalns, Alicia Richarte, Ben Z Katz, Chelsea Torres in Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior, October 27, 2021 [doi/full/10.1080/21641846.2021.1994222]

Research abstract:

Objective

The prevalence of pediatric Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) has been estimated from an ethnically and sociodemographically diverse community-based random sample of 10,119 youth aged 5-17. We assessed whether a salivary biomarker of fatigue could identify youth with ME/CFS.

Study design

We examined the ratio of the concentrations of 2 peptide fragments in saliva, referred to as the Fatigue Biomarker Index (FBI), in participants from our study diagnosed with ME/CFS (n=59) and matched controls (n=39).

Results

Significant overall differences were found in the FBI between those participants with severe ME/CFS and those with ME/CFS and the controls.

Conclusions

If confirmed in other populations, the FBI could serve as an objective test to aid in the diagnosis of severe ME/CFS.

Full article behind a paywall