Sakudo, Akikazu, Kuratsune, Hirohiko, Kato, Yukiko Hakariya et al. · Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry · 2012 · DOI
Researchers used a special light-based scanner on patients' thumbs to see if they could tell the difference between people with ME/CFS and healthy people. The scanner detected subtle changes in how light passes through the skin in a specific wavelength range. When they analyzed the results using computer models, they were able to correctly identify about 70% of ME/CFS patients and 83% of healthy people, suggesting this method might someday help doctors diagnose ME/CFS more objectively.
ME/CFS currently lacks objective biomarkers for diagnosis, forcing clinicians to rely on symptom assessment. This exploratory study demonstrates that spectroscopic analysis of peripheral tissue may detect biochemical or physiological differences associated with ME/CFS, offering a pathway toward developing an objective diagnostic tool that could improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce diagnostic delays.
This study does not prove that Vis-NIR spectroscopy is ready for clinical use—validation in larger, ethnically diverse cohorts and prospective testing are required. It does not identify what biological changes (metabolic, vascular, or cellular) underlie the spectroscopic differences observed. The 70% sensitivity for CFS patients means 30% would be missed, which is inadequate for a standalone diagnostic test.
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 →
Spotted an error in this entry? Report it →