Researchers in the UK have received an influx of funds to conduct a genetic study of chronic fatigue syndrome, the Guardian reports.
It adds that researchers from the DecodeME study have received £3.2 million (US $4 million) in funding from the Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health Research.. According to the Guardian, the study investigators aim to collect DNA samples from 20,000 people with CFS, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), and will use samples from the UK Biobank as matched controls.
CFS/ME affects about 250,000 people in the UK, the Guardian notes, and is marked by a tiredness that is not alleviated by rest. There is no treatment, it adds.
"Our focus will be on DNA differences that increase a person's risk of becoming ill with ME/CFS. We chose to study DNA because significant differences between people with, and without, ME/CFS must reflect a biological cause of the illness," the University of Edinburgh's Chris Ponting, the study PI, tells the Guardian. "It is our hope that this study will transform ME/CFS research by injecting much-needed robust evidence into the field."