Sakudo, Akikazu, Kuratsune, Hirohiko, Kobayashi, Takanori et al. · Biochemical and biophysical research communications · 2006 · DOI
Researchers used a special light-based scanning technique to analyze blood samples from ME/CFS patients and healthy people. The scans could correctly identify which samples came from ME/CFS patients about 93% of the time. This suggests that a simple blood test using this technology might one day help doctors diagnose ME/CFS objectively, rather than relying only on symptoms and other tests.
ME/CFS currently lacks objective diagnostic biomarkers, forcing clinicians to rely on clinical criteria and exclusion of other conditions. A non-invasive blood-based spectroscopic test could improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce diagnostic delay, and potentially identify biochemical abnormalities underlying the disease. This work contributes to the growing body of evidence that ME/CFS has detectable biological signatures in blood.
This study does not prove that the observed spectral differences reflect the cause of ME/CFS or explain which biochemical components drive the discrimination. It does not establish whether spectral changes are disease-specific or could occur in other conditions. The study cannot be generalized beyond the specific populations tested without larger, independent validation cohorts.
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
Sakudo, Akikazu, Kuratsune, Hirohiko, Kobayashi, Takanori, Tajima, Seiki, Watanabe, Yasuyoshi, & Ikuta, Kazuyoshi (2006). Spectroscopic diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome by visible and near-infrared spectroscopy in serum samples.. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.05.074
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-sakudo-2006-spectroscopic-diagnosis,
author = {Sakudo, Akikazu and Kuratsune, Hirohiko and Kobayashi, Takanori and Tajima, Seiki and Watanabe, Yasuyoshi and Ikuta, Kazuyoshi},
title = {Spectroscopic diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome by visible and near-infrared spectroscopy in serum samples.},
journal = {Biochemical and biophysical research communications},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.05.074},
note = {PubMed: 16730652},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sakudo-2006-spectroscopic-diagnosis},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sakudo-2006-spectroscopic-diagnosis
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