Dude
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In recent months, Austria has announced that it will invest more in research and care for post-viral diseases. One of these researches has now started. The study is a collaboration between a private foundation and the Medical University of Vienna.
https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/ue...-so-viele-betroffene-durch-covid-19-erwartet/
The study by the team led by Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber from the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, and Immunology at the Medical University of Vienna builds upon previous research that focused on immune system disorders and intestinal barrier dysfunction in affected individuals. It is well known that ME/CFS patients often exhibit significant variations in the clinical manifestation of their condition. However, despite intensive research efforts, to date, there is no measurable parameter (biomarker) that definitively indicates the disease.
As demonstrated by the research team at the Medical University of Vienna, ME/CFS patients can be subdivided into groups based on the function of their immune systems. Within this classification, the study identified different biomarkers in patients indicating immune system disorders or reduced intestinal barrier function. Thus, clinically relevant differences among ME/CFS patients were identified that would have remained unnoticed without the preceding immunological subdivision of the ME/CFS patient group.
"In our study, we see that immunological evaluation of ME/CFS patients is of crucial importance. Affected individuals suffering from immunodeficiencies are characterized by their altered immune function. In ME/CFS patients with intact immune systems, intestinal barrier function was found to be reduced," explains study leader Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber. The peculiarities detectable through measurable markers in the blood allow researchers to draw conclusions about both different disease mechanisms and different treatment options for ME/CFS patients.
In the next step, the study results will be validated on a larger scale. To advance research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the Medical University of Vienna is currently establishing the first "ME/CFS Biobank Austria" with biological samples from affected individuals, supported by the WE&ME Foundation. Untersmayr-Elsenhuber states, "To facilitate rapid and cross-border ME/CFS research in the future, we have coordinated with research groups in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany from the outset."
https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/ue...-so-viele-betroffene-durch-covid-19-erwartet/