Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex and severely disabling disease for which no targeted therapies have yet been approved. Post-exertional malaise (PEM), acardinal symptom of ME/CFS, is characterized by a delayed worsening of symptoms, typically occurring 12-48 hours after physical or cognitive exertion and lasting for several days. PEM severely impairs patients’ quality of life due to a markedly reduced tolerance for everyday activities. 

To date, the mechanisms underlying PEM in ME/CFS remain poorly understood, and no diagnostic tools are currently available to predict its occurrence or guide preventive interventions. The BioSig-PEM consortium, coordinated in Jena, Germany, aims to identify core pathophysiological signatures of different PEM phenotypes in ME/CFS that may subsequently be translated into novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The individual subprojects (SPs) comprise immune profiling and blood morphology analyses (SP1), analysis of Raman spectroscopic signatures of blood cells (SP2), investigation of PEM- and ME/CFS-associated alterations in tryptophan metabolism at both the host and microbiome levels (SP3), analysis of functional endothelial biomarkers (SP4), and harmonization and standardization of PEM diagnostics in ME/CFS patients (SP5). SP5, coordinated by the MCFC, is establishing a cross-consortium dataset for harmonized, structured, and comprehensive clinical phenotyping of the diverse manifestations of the disease. All patients with ME/CFS are diagnosed according to internationally established diagnostic criteria.

01.11.2024 - 31.10.2027

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

Leibniz-Institut für Photonische Technologien Jena

Universitätsklinikum Jena

Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel

https://www.gesundheitsforschung-bmbf.de/de/biosig-pem-identifizierung-biopathologischer-signaturen-von-post-exertional-malaise-bei-me-18111.php