{"id":47168,"date":"2025-08-07T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/?p=47168"},"modified":"2025-09-18T14:35:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:35:14","slug":"genetic-differences-found-in-people-with-me-cfs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/genetic-differences-found-in-people-with-me-cfs\/","title":{"rendered":"Genetic differences found in people with ME\/CFS"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>DNA study reveals ME\/CFS Neuro-immune causes<\/h2>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">DecodeME team announce that the initial analysis of<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a015,579<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> DNA samples is complete, and they have important news to share.<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-47173 aligncenter lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Decode-genetic-differences.png?resize=300%2C298&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"298\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Decode-genetic-differences.png?resize=300%2C298&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Decode-genetic-differences.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Decode-genetic-differences.png?w=613&amp;ssl=1 613w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/298;\" \/><\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Main findings:<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Your genes contribute to your chances of developing ME\/CFS.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"none\">People with an ME\/CFS diagnosis have significant genetic differences in their DNA compared to the general population. These lie in many places across the genome, and do not impact just one gene.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"none\">Eight genetic signals have been identified. As DNA doesn\u2019t change with ME\/CFS onset, these findings reflect causes rather than effects of ME\/CFS.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The signals discovered are involved in the immune and the nervous systems, indicating immunological and neurological causes to this poorly understood disease.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"none\">At least two of the signals relate to the body\u2019s response to infection. Other signals point to the nervous system, one of which researchers previously found in people experiencing chronic pain, reinforcing neurological contributions to ME\/CFS. These signals align with how people with ME\/CFS describe their illness.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Professor Chris Ponting, DecodeME lead investigator, University of Edinburgh<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cThis is a wakeup call. These extraordinary results speak the language of people with ME\/CFS, often recounting people\u2019s ME\/CFS symptoms. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">DecodeME is now calling on researchers worldwide to join us in accelerating ME\/CFS research. With our participants we have built an extraordinarily rich DecodeME data set, to which we continue to offer data access. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">We especially welcome researchers whose work is relevant to the eight signals we have identified, and who could bring their expertise to bear in highly targeted studies that would produce further ME\/CFS insights and ultimately treatments.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Read more at\u00a0<strong>#DecodeME<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.decodeme.org.uk\/initial-dna-results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Initial DecodeME DNA Results<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Reports and comments:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>BBC Radio Wales<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sounds\/play\/m002gn11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Phone &#8211; Oliver Hides<\/a> talked to Prof Ponting and patients [from 36 min 20]<\/p>\n<p><strong>BBC Radio 5<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sounds\/play\/m002gn1m\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Your voice &#8211; Nicky Campbell<\/a> talked to Prof Ponting and patients\u00a0[From 1h 4mins]<\/p>\n<p><strong>BBC<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/p0lz9jsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Access All Podcast: Is the DNA of people with ME different?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Daily Express:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/news\/uk\/2091889\/ME-CFS-genetic-study-cause\">Groundbreaking genetic study sheds new light on causes of ME and chronic fatigue syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Daily Mail<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/health\/article-14976305\/Scientists-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-breakthrough-cause-effective-treatment.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scientists FINALLY crack the mystery of chronic fatigue syndrome &#8211; major breakthrough reveals cause, sparks new hope for effective treatment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Edinburgh University<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ed.ac.uk\/news\/key-genetic-differences-found-in-people-with-mecfs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Key genetic differences found in people with ME\/CFS<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Financial Times<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/TBZ65\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chronic fatigue patients have different genes, study finds<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Guardian<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2025\/aug\/06\/genes-me-chronic-fatigue-syndrome\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scientists find link between genes and ME\/chronic fatigue syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Guardian<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/audio\/2025\/aug\/21\/can-science-crack-the-mystery-of-me-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science Weekly Podcast: Can science crack the mystery of ME?\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Health Rising<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthrising.org\/blog\/2025\/08\/17\/decode-me-biological-foundation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Decoding ME: Big Stakes Genetics Study Puts ME\/CFS on Firm Biological Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Huff post<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/entry\/i-was-medically-gaslit-for-years-this-study-finally-proves-mecfs-is-a-real-illness_uk_68948843e4b0495c6ff5443e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I Was Medically Gaslit For Years \u2013 This Study Finally Proves ME\/CFS Is A Real Illness<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Independent<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/health\/myalgic-encephalomyelitis-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-genetics-dna-study-b2803176.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The key genetic difference ME sufferers have from others \u2013 and what it means<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Live science:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/health\/genetics\/huge-study-of-me-cfs-reveals-genetic-hotspots-linked-to-the-debilitating-syndrome\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Huge study of ME\/CFS reveals genetic &#8216;hotspots&#8217; linked to the debilitating syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>LBC:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-2XxcsUXRJs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Natasha Devon Phone In &#8211; DecodeME Results<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>New Scientist:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2491509-key-genetic-differences-found-in-people-with-chronic-fatigue-syndrome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Key genetic differences found in people with chronic fatigue<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2491509-key-genetic-differences-found-in-people-with-chronic-fatigue-syndrome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>New York Post<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/08\/07\/health\/illness-once-dismissed-as-yuppie-flu-has-genetic-causes-study\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Debilitating illness once dismissed as \u2018yuppie flu\u2019 actually has genetic causes: study<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Newstalk:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newstalk.com\/news\/luke-oneill-the-science-of-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-2190900\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Prof Luke O&#8217;Neill: The science of chronic fatigue syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Newsweek<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/genetics-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-link-study-2110090\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Study finds genetics could cause ME\/CFS<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The News International<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/latest\/1333926-uk-scientists-discover-distinct-genes-in-chronic-fatigue-patients\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UK scientists discover distinct genes in chronic fatigue patients<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Science<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/possible-genetic-clues-me-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-identified-massive-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Possible genetic clues to ME\/chronic fatigue syndrome identified in massive study<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Science Media Centre<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencemediacentre.org\/expert-reaction-to-unpublished-preprint-on-the-decodeme-genome-wide-association-study-of-me-cfs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Expert reaction to unpublished preprint on the DecodeME genome-wide association study of ME\/CFS<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Standard<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/news\/health\/people-university-of-edinburgh-european-medical-research-council-b1241813.html\">People with ME have key genetic differences to other people, study finds<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Telegraph :<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/xJjg2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ME is a real illness, genetic study shows<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Times:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/BSpnr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Breakthrough genetic study offers treatment hope for ME patients<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Times<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/scotland\/article\/chris-ponting-misogyny-me-research-c09hp0hfg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lack of ME research because of \u2018medical misogyny\u2019, says top scientist<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DNA study reveals ME\/CFS Neuro-immune causes The\u00a0DecodeME team announce that the initial analysis of\u00a015,579 DNA samples is complete, and they have important news to share. Main findings: Your genes contribute to your chances of developing ME\/CFS. People with an ME\/CFS &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/genetic-differences-found-in-people-with-me-cfs\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5qkYK-cgM","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47168"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47331,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47168\/revisions\/47331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}