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Published on: December 18, 2013
Saliva Fatigue Biomarker Index As a Marker for Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in a
Leonard A Jason1, John Kalns2, Alicia Richarte2
1Center for Community Research, DePaul University, Chicago, IL.
Objective:
The prevalence of pediatric Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) has been estimated from an ethnically and sociodemographically diverse community-based random sample of 10,119 youth aged 5-17. A team of physicians made a final diagnosis of ME/CFS if the participants met criteria for up to three selected case definitions following medical and psychiatric evaluations. We assessed whether a salivary biomarker of fatigue could identify youth with ME/CFS.
Study Design:
We examined the ratio of the concentrations of 2 peptide fragments in saliva, referred to as the Fatigue Biomarker Index (FBI), in participants from our study diagnosed with ME/CFS (n=59) and matched controls (n=39).
Results:
Significant overall differences were found in the FBI between those participants with severe ME/CFS and those with ME/CFS and the controls.
Conclusions:
If confirmed in other populations, the FBI could serve as an objective test to aid in the diagnosis of severe ME/CFS.
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