Monzón-Nomdedeu, María B, Morten, Karl J, Oltra, Elisa · World journal of stem cells · 2021 · DOI
This review examines whether special laboratory cells called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could be used as 'sensors' to detect ME/CFS and fibromyalgia. The researchers found that patients with these conditions have unusual chemicals in their blood and body fluids that differ from healthy people. They propose that iPSCs could be grown in patient samples to detect these abnormal chemicals, potentially helping diagnose these diseases and predict how patients might respond to future treatments.
Current ME/CFS and fibromyalgia diagnosis relies on symptom assessment without specific biomarkers, leading to diagnostic delays and uncertainty. If iPSCs can reliably detect disease-associated plasma factors, this could enable objective diagnostic testing and personalized medicine approaches. This work may eventually help identify which patients benefit from particular treatments, improving clinical outcomes.
This review does not prove that iPSCs can actually diagnose ME/CFS or fibromyalgia in clinical practice—it proposes a hypothesis based on existing metabolic data. The study cannot establish causation between detected plasma factors and disease mechanisms, only that correlations exist. No prospective validation studies or clinical applications are demonstrated.
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
Monzón-Nomdedeu, María B, Morten, Karl J, & Oltra, Elisa (2021). Induced pluripotent stem cells as suitable sensors for fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.. World journal of stem cells. https://doi.org/10.4252/wjsc.v13.i8.1134
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-monzn-nomdedeu-2021-induced-pluripotent,
author = {Monzón-Nomdedeu, María B and Morten, Karl J and Oltra, Elisa},
title = {Induced pluripotent stem cells as suitable sensors for fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {World journal of stem cells},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.4252/wjsc.v13.i8.1134},
note = {PubMed: 34567431},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/monzn-nomdedeu-2021-induced-pluripotent},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/monzn-nomdedeu-2021-induced-pluripotent
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