Illness once dismissed as ‘yuppie flu’ has genetic causes: study

Tired all the time? It might be in your DNA.

A new study has uncovered striking genetic differences in people suffering from a devastating illness that causes extreme exhaustion, chronic pain and brain fog that can last for months, years or even decades.

Researchers are calling the discovery a “wakeup call” that could finally shift public perception of the poorly understood condition, once dismissed as a “fashionable form of hypochondria” and labeled the “yuppie flu” by doctors, despite its often debilitating effects.

Chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME/CFS, is believed to affect 67 million people worldwide — including an estimated 3.3 million Americans.

Until recently, little was known about what causes the crippling illness, which can turn a short walk into a major flare-up that leaves many patients bedbound with symptoms that rest doesn’t relieve.

For years, doctors categorized ME/CFS as a psychosomatic issue rather than a physical disorder. But a growing body of research, including the latest genetic findings, suggests there is a clear biological basis.

“ME/CFS is a serious illness and we now know that someone’s genetics can tip the balance on whether they are diagnosed with it,” Dr. Chris Ponting, lead investigator at the University of Edinburgh, said in a statement.

The study analyzed DNA samples from more than 15,500 people of European ancestry with ME/CFS as part of DecodeME, the world’s largest dataset on the disease.

Researchers found eight key regions of DNA where differences were far more common in ME/CFS patients than in the general population.

Two of those DNA signals are linked to the body’s response to infection, aligning with frequent patient reports that symptoms began after recovering from an infectious illness.

Another genetic marker overlaps with chronic pain — a common complaint among ME/CFS sufferers.

“As DNA doesn’t change with ME/CFS onset, these findings reflect causes rather than effects of ME/CFS,” the researchers wrote. 

“These results are groundbreaking,” said Sonya Chowdhury, CEO of the charity Action for ME and DecodeME co-investigator. “We’ve gone from knowing almost nothing about ME/CFS causes to pinpointing clear targets for research.”

While researchers say the findings are not yet ready to guide diagnosis or treatment, they provide vital clues about the disease’s origins and could pave the way for future breakthroughs.

“We are shining a laser light on eight precise areas of DNA, so that highly focused research can now be carried out,” Chowdhury said. “We hope this attracts researchers, drug developers, and proportionate funding to ME/CFS — and speeds up the discovery of treatments.”

Currently, there is no diagnostic test, effective treatment, or cure for ME/CFS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Instead, doctors typically focus on relieving symptoms through interventions such as medication, stretching and movement therapies, acupuncture, or massage.

They may also recommend lifestyle strategies such as pacing, a method that helps ME/CFS patients manage their activity levels to reduce the frequency and severity of relapses while staying as active as possible.

The study is currently a preprint from the University of Edinburgh and has not been peer-reviewed yet.

The DecodeME team is urging researchers worldwide to tap into their dataset and launch new, targeted studies on ME/CFS, especially around these eight newly identified genetic signals.