---

layout: post
syndicate_to: [ mastodon, bluesky, reddit ]
date: 2026-04-29 08:59
title: A potential diagnostic test for ME/CFS based on cell electrophysiology
link: https://meassociation.org.uk/2026/04/meruk-breakthrough-magazine-a-potential-diagnostic-test-for-me-cfs-based-on-cell-electrophysiology/
cited: ME Association
type: linked

---

Hope, potentially.

> There is currently no widely available, accurate diagnostic marker for ME/CFS. However, growing evidence suggests that the electrical characteristics of white blood cells could form the basis of a low-cost, reliable diagnostic test for the disease.
> 
> In 2019, Prof. Ron Davis and his team developed a nanoelectronics test that found a difference in the impedance of white blood cells taken from people with ME/CFS compared with those from control subjects. 
> 
> In 2023, this work was continued by Prof. Robert Dorey, Dr Fatima Labeed, Krista Clarke and colleagues at the University of Surrey, in a study jointly funded by ME Research UK and the ME Association.
> 
> White blood cells from people with ME/CFS, people with multiple sclerosis and healthy volunteers were put into a salty solution for one-and-a half hours. The change in the electrical properties of these cells after the salt treatment was significantly different in the ME/CFS samples compared with the other groups, supporting their potential as a diagnostic tool.
> 
> Two biomarkers showed potential for distinguishing ME/CFS patients from other groups: cytoplasm conductivity and zeta potential. Very simply put, cytoplasm conductivity is an indicator of how easily electrical current can flow within a cell, while zeta potential is related to the electrical force needed to move a charge across the cell membrane