In Professor Jonas Bergquist’s laboratory, they have studied neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration for over three decades, and especially the in-depth analysis of cerebrospinal fluid has been a specialty. In 2010, the first evidence of low-grade inflammation was presented in ME/CFS patients and has since then been part of the focus for the continuous search of the pathomechanism underlying the disease. In the last couple of years, Professor Bergquist has been the supervisor of Björn Bragée (MD and head of the Bragée Clinic, Stockholm) and has been investigating, in close collaboration, the molecular features of cerebrospinal fluid from ME/CFS patients.

The overall aim is to explore the hypothesis that low-grade neuroinflammation, microglia activation, deranged flow of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and deranged intracranial pressure (ICP) could explain the cardinal symptoms of ME/CFS. If this hypothesis proves true, it opens a new research area in ME/CFS and hopes for effective treatment to reduce neuroinflammation, regulate ICP, and relieve symptoms associated with ME/CFS. This study will make use of CNS imaging and analysis of CSF and blood samples and will identify proteomic and metabolomic biomarkers of the disease, a highly needed tool in the diagnostic and prognostic process. Through a combination of more detailed clinical examination, evaluation, and multiOmics biomarker analysis, we will be able to provide more individually adapted care and, hopefully, a cure.