Rahim Esfandyarpour, Aref Kashi, Maya Nemat-Gorgani et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) · 2019 · DOI
Stanford researchers developed a nanoelectronics device that detects immune cell changes using a tiny electrical sensor. When salt stress was applied to blood samples, ME/CFS patient samples showed a distinctly different electrical response compared to healthy controls. This 'nano-needle' assay could potentially serve as an objective diagnostic test.
This study represents progress toward an objective biological test for ME/CFS. The dramatic difference in immune cell response to stress challenge distinguishes ME/CFS samples from healthy controls with high accuracy in this initial study.
This is a small proof-of-concept study. The assay needs validation in larger independent cohorts and comparison with other fatiguing conditions before clinical use. The mechanism behind the altered electrical signal is not fully understood.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Rahim Esfandyarpour, Aref Kashi, Maya Nemat-Gorgani, Julie Wilhelmy, & Ronald W. Davis (2019). A nanoelectronics-blood-based diagnostic biomarker for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1901274116
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-esfandyarpour-2019-nanoelectronics,
author = {Rahim Esfandyarpour and Aref Kashi and Maya Nemat-Gorgani and Julie Wilhelmy and Ronald W. Davis},
title = {A nanoelectronics-blood-based diagnostic biomarker for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1901274116},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/esfandyarpour-2019-nanoelectronics},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/esfandyarpour-2019-nanoelectronics
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