Jarred Younger, PhD, addressed researchers at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology as part of the fall seminar series, speaking on research into ME/CFS, commonly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Younger, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, spoke about the unique aspects of the disease that make it such a powerful medical mystery.
One reason ME/CFS is so difficult to study, Younger explained, is because there is no diagnostic test, meaning clinicians have to rely on self-reported symptoms to diagnose. Those symptoms are often prolonged flu-like symptoms, like exhaustion, but they last more than six months. Most people with ME/CFS don’t get better, and there are few specialists to see them. The cause of ME/CFS remains unknown.
Researchers, including Younger, are working to get to the bottom of the disease’s origin, in hopes of finding effective treatment.
This seminar was hosted by Liz Worthey, PhD.
More information on HudsonAlpha Research Seminars, including the upcoming schedule, can be found at hudsonalpha.org/seminars.
