cfs

"This is an important finding for ME/CFS because now we can examine the T cells more carefully, and hopefully by looking in the exhausted cells we can start to get hints as to what they are responding to," said Andrew Grimson, professor of molecular biology and co-corresponding author of the study.

"Our findings raise the question of whether such anti-exhaustion drugs might also be helpful in ME/CFS."

Strong evidence for the phenomenon of T cell exhaustion in ME/CFS has also been reported in long COVID, Hanson added.

"Immune cells from ME/CFS patients exhibited higher levels of proteins on their surface that are characteristic of cells that have become exhausted, which can be caused by long-term exposure to a virus protein or by continuous stimulation of the immune system, a state that is also found in cancer patients," Hanson said.

The spokesperson said the government "welcomes applications for high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences and treatment of ME/CFS and long Covid".