Five Diseases May Share Hidden Biological Link, Study Finds

Researchers from the University of East Anglia and Oxford BioDynamics used the EpiSwitch Orion platform to find shared regulatory networks in ME/CFS, long COVID, PTSD, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. The work, published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, used no new patient samples.

• Direct overlap of individual genes between the five diseases is almost absent
• Shared networks involve immunity, mitochondria, metabolism and stress response
• Study is based on published GWAS data and 3D genomics of ME/CFS
• Result may aid diagnosis of ME/CFS and long COVID without lab tests