Vienna researcher Wielscher receives funding prize for ME/CFS genome study

Genetic Subgroups as the Key

At the center of the project is, according to Wielscher, the question of which biological processes underlie the disease. His team is analyzing genetic variants with regard to inflammatory responses, autoimmunity, disorders of energy production or the gut barrier, among other things, he explained to the APA. "ME/CFS gilt als eine sogenannte komplexe Erkrankung, bei der viele unterschiedliche Mutationen gemeinsam zum Erscheinungsbild beitragen", said Wielscher.

The team also looks at common variants – "also DNA-Veränderungen, die bei mehr als fünf Prozent der Bevölkerung vorkommen und genetisch nochmals schwerer zu fassen sind". "Und darauf aufbauend suchen wir dann wieder nach neuen genetischen Assoziationen", explained Wielscher. In the best case, the clinically defined and genetically defined subgroups should mutually confirm each other when compared.

"Abschließend werden wir diese neu definierten Untergruppen in DecodeME suchen, um erneute genomweite Analysen durchzuführen", the researcher announced. This is a way to describe the genetic architecture of ME/CFS more precisely than before.

Covid as a Trigger for Greater Attention

The background to the increased research is, according to Wielscher, also the Covid-19 pandemic. "ME/CFS hat es ja schon zu Zeiten der Spanischen Grippe gegeben", he said in conversation with the APA. "Doch bis zur Corona-Pandemie war dies ein blind spot." With Covid and its various forms of post-acute infection syndromes – whose most severe manifestation is precisely ME/CFS – the topic has received more attention.

In addition to the genetics project, a team around Kathryn Hoffmann, involved "Primary Care" expert at the Meduni Vienna, will analyze symptoms, comorbidities, treatment attempts and questionnaire data from large patient cohorts based on clinical data. In this way, clinical and genetic findings are to be brought together later.

Other scientists are also being funded by the FWF in the field of ME/CFS: Mirjam Bachler (Meduni Innsbruck), Lilian Konicar (Meduni Vienna) and Katharina Ledebur (Complexity Science Hub Vienna) are receiving a total of 1.3 million euros for their own projects.

WE&ME Foundation and FWF as Funders

The new funding prize was financed from a private donation by the WE&ME Foundation to the alpha+ Foundation of the FWF. The family behind the WE&ME Foundation is known for the "Ströck" bakeries and is itself affected by ME/CFS diseases.

Wielscher expressed confidence that genetics can also open up therapeutic approaches in the long term. If defective genes can be identified that also play a role in other diseases, "dann könnten sich bereits vorhandene Medikamente vielleicht auch bei ME/CFS als wirksam erweisen", he said. At the same time, he warned against exaggerated expectations: "Natürlich passiert bereits einiges in der Forschung zu ME/CFS, aber wir stehen noch am Anfang, die genetischen Muster wirklich zu verstehen." It will still take time until concrete application, the researcher emphasized.