Study links shared process to chronic exhaustion in 5 separate illnesses
Researchers have identified a shared biological process involving immune and metabolic systems that may explain chronic exhaustion across five distinct illnesses. The study suggests that conditions like long Covid and chronic fatigue syndrome share underlying regulatory network dysfunctions.
Why it matters
This discovery could lead to new diagnostic tools and treatments for patients suffering from debilitating, long-term fatigue conditions that were previously viewed as unrelated.
NEW DELHI, Sept 3: A new study has uncovered a shared biological process that may help explain chronic exhaustion across five conditions -- post traumatic stress disorder, long Covid, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple sclerosis.The findings, published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, reveals "striking" biological similarities between illnesses usually viewed as separate disorders and triggered by different events ranging from viral infections to psychological trauma or autoimmune responses, researchers said.The researchers, led by those at the University of East Anglia and Oxford BioDynamics Plc in the UK, found that genes linked to each illness were feeding into the same major biological systems, including immune and inflammatory signalling, mitochondrial energy production, metabolic regulation, stress-response mechanisms and neuroendocrine signalling.The study could help explain why people who have experienced a viral infection or psychological trauma can go on to develop similar symptoms, they said."We now think the answer may lie…
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