Ferguson, Caroline A, Santangelo, Carmen, Marramiero, Lorenzo et al. · Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023 · DOI
Researchers used a specialized technology to measure electrical changes in muscle cells when calcium levels increased abnormally. They found that calcium buildup—a problem seen in ME/CFS and other muscle diseases—creates detectable electrical differences that can be measured. This new method may eventually help doctors identify calcium problems in patient cells more easily.
Dysregulated calcium handling is hypothesized as a central pathological mechanism in ME/CFS, yet current diagnostic tools cannot reliably measure this at the single-cell level. This work demonstrates a non-invasive electrical measurement approach that could eventually enable better detection and monitoring of calcium dysregulation in patient-derived cells. Such tools may accelerate understanding of ME/CFS pathophysiology and support development of targeted therapies.
This study does not prove that calcium dysregulation causes ME/CFS symptoms, nor does it demonstrate that this electrical measurement approach works in actual patient cells or living tissue. The use of ionomycin creates artificial, acute calcium elevation that may not accurately replicate the chronic, disease-specific dysregulation occurring in ME/CFS. The findings are correlational—establishing that electrical changes accompany calcium changes—rather than establishing the mechanism by which calcium problems drive disease.
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 →
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Primary citation
Ferguson, Caroline A, Santangelo, Carmen, Marramiero, Lorenzo, Farina, Marco, Pietrangelo, Tiziana, & Cheng, Xuanhong (2023). Broadband Electrical Spectroscopy to Distinguish Single-Cell Ca<sup>2+</sup> Changes Due to Ionomycin Treatment in a Skeletal Muscle Cell Line.. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland). https://doi.org/10.3390/s23094358
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ferguson-2023-broadband-electrical,
author = {Ferguson, Caroline A and Santangelo, Carmen and Marramiero, Lorenzo and Farina, Marco and Pietrangelo, Tiziana and Cheng, Xuanhong},
title = {Broadband Electrical Spectroscopy to Distinguish Single-Cell Ca<sup>2+</sup> Changes Due to Ionomycin Treatment in a Skeletal Muscle Cell Line.},
journal = {Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3390/s23094358},
note = {PubMed: 37177559},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ferguson-2023-broadband-electrical},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ferguson-2023-broadband-electrical
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