Gravelsina, Sabine, Nora-Krukle, Zaiga, Vilmane, Anda et al. · Biomolecules · 2021 · DOI
Researchers tested whether a protein called activin B could be used as a simple blood test to diagnose ME/CFS. They compared activin B levels in 134 people with ME/CFS and 54 healthy people, but found no meaningful difference between the two groups. Based on these results, activin B does not appear to be a useful diagnostic tool for ME/CFS.
ME/CFS lacks objective diagnostic tests and relies on clinical criteria, making the search for reliable biomarkers essential for earlier and more accurate diagnosis. This negative finding helps guide future biomarker research away from less promising candidates and focuses efforts on more promising molecular targets.
This study does not prove that activin B plays no role in ME/CFS pathophysiology—only that blood levels do not reliably distinguish patients from healthy controls. The study's cross-sectional design cannot establish causation or whether activin B might be relevant in specific ME/CFS subtypes. The negative result does not eliminate the possibility that activin B could be useful in combination with other biomarkers.
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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