MedUni Vienna: ME/CFS – International research project launched
MedUni Vienna is coordinating the international EU-funded research project DISCOVER-ME to improve the diagnosis and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) through biomarker discovery, patient stratification and digital disease models.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic, severely debilitating multisystemic condition that is estimated to affect up to 70 million people worldwide. As part of the international research project DISCOVER-ME, led by MedUni Vienna, researchers aim to establish the foundations for improved diagnostics tailored to patient subgroups and for the development of targeted treatment strategies. The project is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme with more than 7.5 million euros and will run for four years.
ME/CFS affects multiple body systems, including the immune, nervous and endocrine systems as well as energy metabolism. A defining characteristic of the disease is post-exertional malaise (PEM), a delayed worsening of symptoms following physical or mental exertion. Diagnosis currently relies solely on clinical criteria after excluding other possible causes. According to research data from MedUni Vienna, patients in Austria, Germany and Switzerland wait an average of five years for a diagnosis, while objective laboratory tests or validated biomarkers are still lacking.
Comprehensive biological analyses
DISCOVER-ME follows a multi-stage research strategy. In a first step, researchers will analyse 2,000 patient datasets using a refined and validated questionnaire to identify different clinical presentations of ME/CFS. This will be followed by extensive biological investigations using samples from more than 700 ME/CFS patients and almost 200 healthy controls collected through several European biobanks.
The project will investigate changes in the immune system, metabolism, hormone regulation and mitochondrial function. In addition, researchers will apply advanced multi-omics technologies, including proteomics and epigenetic analyses, to identify reproducible biomarkers and classify ME/CFS into biologically meaningful disease subtypes.
Digital twins to identify new therapies
The biological data will be integrated into a newly developed computer-based disease map. This will enable researchers to create in silico models and patient-specific digital twins that simulate disease mechanisms and allow potential treatments to be tested virtually.
Using a systematic drug repurposing approach, more than 9,000 existing compounds will be screened by computer simulation. From these, 20 to 50 particularly promising drug candidates will be selected for further investigation in future clinical research projects.
“With DISCOVER-ME, we aim to systematically map the biological basis of the disease and translate this into a clinically applicable concept,” says Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber, coordinator of the project at the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology at MedUni Vienna. “Our goal is to enable earlier confirmed diagnoses and to develop treatment strategies tailored to the individual disease mechanisms of each patient.”
Leading international collaboration
The DISCOVER-ME consortium brings together leading international research institutions, including Imperial College London, Uppsala University, the University of Galway, the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and several specialised European ME/CFS biobanks. The project is funded under the Horizon Europe programme as part of the initiative addressing high-burden and under-researched medical conditions.