Are B cells the key to treating ME/CFS, Øystein Fluge?

Prof Øystein Fluge is a professor at the Department of Clinical Science at the University of Bergen in Norway. As a senior consultant, he co-supervises the "ME/CFS research group" at the Department of Oncology and Medical Physics at Haukeland University Clinic. The research group consists of doctors and scientists, nurses, research technicians, molecular biologists and health and exercise therapists. The purpose of the research group is the investigation of possible medical treatments for ME/CFS and biological mechanisms involved in the disease. The group also conducts laboratory experiments based on a biobank containing blood samples and other biological materials donated by the participants enrolled in the clinical trials. The purpose of their experiments is to identify disease mechanisms and biomarkers for ME/CFS. Clinical studies into cell metabolism (at the University of Bergen) and immunology (at Oslo University Hospital) based on the biobank are conducted in collaboration with his research group at Haukeland. Prof Fluge has worked on uncovering disease mechanisms and testing drug treatments for ME for around 15 years, and in that has contributed to developing a hypothesis model for ME/CFS.

In the video, she answers the following questions:

• What is one of the biggest challenges in conducting clinical trials for a disease as heterogeneous as ME/CFS?

• Please explain why you are targeting the B cells and tell us more details.

• When will your study be finished?