Persistent fatigue, joint pain, muscle weakness, headaches, vision and memory problems … How to explain the chronic fatigue syndrome? According to microbiology researchers at Cornell University (United States), this disease could be linked to an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota, that is to say bacteria that live in our intestines. Their study is published in the journal Microbiome.
An excess of pro-inflammatory bacteria
The biologists had the idea to look on the side of the intestines because the patients often complained of pain and gastrointestinal disturbances. They then examined the DNA of the intestinal bacteria of 48 patients suffering from this syndrome and compared it to that of 39 healthy subjects. Their results show that the bacteria of patients suffering from chronic fatigue are less diverse than those of healthy subjects. Another observation: the bacteria most common in patients are so-called pro-inflammatory species, to the detriment of anti-inflammatory species. This imbalance exists for other diseases, such as Crohn’s disease for example. “Our work shows that the gut microbiota of patients with chronic fatigue is not normally balanced, and can lead to gastrointestinal and inflammatory symptoms in sufferers of this disease.“explains Professor Maureen Hanson, co-author of the study, in a press release from the site MedicalXpress.
Use this imbalance as a diagnostic method
This discovery also represents a hope to reduce the diagnostic error and the stigma often suffered by people suffering from this syndrome, wrongly associated with psychological causes. “Soon, we could consider this technique as a complement to other non-invasive diagnostic methods.“reveals Dr. Ludovic Giloteaux, co-author of the study. For the moment, scientists do not know if the bacterial imbalance is a cause or a consequence of chronic fatigue syndrome, but hope to be able to play on the microbiota to improve effectiveness of therapies. “If we have a better idea of what’s going on between this microbiota and patients, clinicians might consider changing diets, using prebiotics, or probiotics to help treat this disease“concludes Doctor Giloteaux.
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