ZEGAMI JOINS TEAM OF MEDICAL RESEARCHERS TO HELP FIND THE CAUSE OF ME/CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME AND ULTIMATELY A CURE
Zegami, the Oxford University data visualisation spin-out, has joined an international team of medical researchers to try and find the cause of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). This could then help in the development of the first ever medical test for the condition, new treatments or even to find a cure. The work could also help researchers studying other medical conditions that have a fatigue symptom including cancer, strokes, Parkinson Disease and Multiple Sclerosis.
ME/CFS affects 20 million people worldwide, but it is not clear what causes it. Complex and variable symptoms make it difficult to diagnose and only 5% of patients make a full recovery. Research into the causes has been limited due to a lack of funding, but the recent identification of high levels of L-form bacteria in the blood of patients suggests they may play a role in condition.
The new research project will be the largest of its kind in Europe, involving three ME/CFS research centres (Oxford, Bydgoszcz (Poland), and Valencia) over a four to five-year period. The team, led by Dr Karl Morten from the Department of Womens and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, has secured funding worth $750,000 from SoftCell Biologicals, who have developed a patent-pending protocol to culture and examine hidden bacteria in the circulatory system, and is looking to raise an additional £1.6 million.
The study will generate thousands of items of data, and Zegami will work with the project team to build a model using artificial intelligence and data visualisation tools to help analyse these, and more easily identify trends and patterns.. The project uses Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell (PBMC) data obtained from the UK ME/CFS biobank, which includes samples of ME/CFS, Multiple Sclerosis and healthy control groups. Raman spectroscopy is then used and visualised in Zegami, which was able to clearly differentiate between the three different groups. These exciting results represent an important first step in developing a diagnostic test for the bacteria. This builds on a smaller Oxford study led by Professor Wei Huang from the Department of Engineering Science (https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/an/c8an01437j)
The bio-resources collected during this project will be appropriately stored and made available to future studies, encouraging new investigators and clinicians into the fatigue research area. This is vital to help develop ME/CFS and fatigue as a clinical research area.
Dr Karl Morten Director of Graduate Studies and Principle Investigator, The University of Oxford said: “We hope to embark on a hugely important project to try and find out what causes ME, a question that has baffled the medical profession. Our hope is that if we can find out what causes this debilitating disease and a test can then quickly be developed to help identify when people are suffering from it. With diagnosis in many cases taking over 10 years, early detection could potentially enable patients to take steps to prevent the condition from getting worse and increasing the chances of a full recovery. The ultimate prize would be that our work would contribute to the medical profession finding new treatments and ultimately a cure.”
Roger Noble, CEO and founder of Zegami said: “We are delighted to be able to help such a talented team working on such an important project. Medical research is one of the biggest adopters of data visualisation tools and its use of these is increasing rapidly. We are involved in a number of medical projects looking at cancer and cardio vascular diseases, for example.”
Zegami launched out of Oxford University in 2016. It is currently exploring new ideas and making new discoveries for 35 clients and counting, across an ever-growing variety of sectors.
