BBC Morning Live | New £4.75M ME/CFS Genetics Study

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Landmark ME study will map patients' DNA in a mission to find cure.

[00:00:07]Well, ME or chronic fatigue syndrome as it's known is probably the best way to describe it because it tells you exactly what's going on. This feeling of exhaustion, often problems with sleeping.

[00:00:19]It can be hugely debilitating. We think around 400,000 people in the UK are suffering with it at any one time. And a really frustrating condition for that group of people because so far there's not been a particular cause identified and certainly no cure. Well, step in in around November last year results of a an initial study came out looking at the DNA code to see if we could find a genetic element for what might be causing chronic fatigue syndrome. And they looked around 15,000 people and they did find genetic signals in about eight different areas, eight different genetic signals which seems to relate to the people who had chronic fatigue syndrome.

[00:01:00]>> So we now think that we know that there is at least a partial genetic cause for people who are suffering with this condition.

[00:01:07]>> That's fascinating.

[00:01:07]>> Which is, you know, which is amazing in terms of future potential. So now the government is putting in 4.75 million pounds into a further study. They're going to do a deep dive into the genome of over 6,000 people who have chronic fatigue syndrome to see if they can really drill down into where these genes are. And of course, if we can find these gene areas specifically and in the first study they seem to be around and um gene signals controlling the immune system and the nervous system. So both areas that we know are involved. Often people think that they get these symptoms starting after they've had, say, a viral infection. So something that immune system has maybe been triggered. But if we can get that deep dive genetic information, then potentially, and I think we're still thinking, you know, years down the line, there might be something that we can do to at least stratify people and say you might be at higher risk of this, but perhaps even better find a a genetic cure for those sort of people. Wow. Good news for them.

[00:02:01]Really good news for