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ME/CFS Science @mecfsskeptic.bsky.social

2) Here's the data from the new Canadian study. There were 49 patients with fibromyalgia (FM), 99 with ME/CFS, 104 with both ME/CFS and FM, and 54 healthy controls. As you can see, the difference is not large with lots of overlap between groups.

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sep 1, 2025, 8:28 am • 9 0

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ME/CFS Science @mecfsskeptic.bsky.social

3) But FGF-21 has been found to be increased before in ME/CFS, most notably by the Norwegian group (Hoel et al. 2021). They speculated that this might reflect a metabolic compensation mechanism in response to tissue hypoxia. Reference: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih....

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sep 1, 2025, 8:28 am • 10 0 • view
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ME/CFS Science @mecfsskeptic.bsky.social

4) In a later publication (Hoel et al. 2025) it seemed that the Norwegian group replicated these results in a larger sample of more than 200 patients from the Cure ME/CFS Biobank. Reference: www.medrxiv.org/cont...

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sep 1, 2025, 9:07 am • 3 0 • view
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ME/CFS Science @mecfsskeptic.bsky.social

5) FGF-21 is a metabolic stress hormone and increased levels have been found in conditions such as obesity, mitochondrial myopathies, and type 2 diabetes. Perhaps it's a subtle signal that points to an underlying metabolic issue or a compensation mechanism in ME/CFS.

sep 1, 2025, 9:08 am • 6 0 • view
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ME/CFS Science @mecfsskeptic.bsky.social

6) Link to the Canadian study (open-access): Azimi et al. 2025. Circulating FGF-21 as a Disease-Modifying Factor Associated with Distinct Symptoms and Cognitive Profiles in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia

sep 1, 2025, 9:08 am • 4 0 • view
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ME/CFS Science @mecfsskeptic.bsky.social

4) In a later publication (Hoel et al. 2025) it seemed that the Norwegian group replicated these results in a larger sample of more than 200 patients from the Cure ME/CFS Biobank. Reference: medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

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sep 1, 2025, 8:35 am • 8 0 • view
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ME/CFS Science @mecfsskeptic.bsky.social

5) FGF-21 is a metabolic stress hormone and increased levels have been found in conditions such as obesity, mitochondrial myopathies, and type 2 diabetes. Perhaps it's a subtle signal that points to an underlying metabolic issue or a compensation mechanism in ME/CFS.

sep 1, 2025, 8:35 am • 8 0 • view
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ME/CFS Science @mecfsskeptic.bsky.social

6) Link to the Canadian study (open-access): Azimi et al. 2025. Circulating FGF-21 as a Disease-Modifying Factor Associated with Distinct Symptoms and Cognitive Profiles in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26...

sep 1, 2025, 8:35 am • 9 1 • view
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Andreas Longva @andlon.bsky.social

That y axis is log scale. Doesn't that mean that the differences in the Norwegian study are way more pronounced than in the Canadian study? If so, which way does the pendulum of systemic bias swing...

sep 1, 2025, 9:37 am • 1 0 • view