Lead author Dr Mady Hornig said: ‘We now have evidence confirming what millions with this disease already know, that ME isn’t psychological.’
该研究的主要作者马迪·何宁博士说：“现在我们有证据向上百万患者证明，肌痛性脑脊髓炎并不是心理疾病。”

However, the work is still preliminary and many questions remain to be answered, including why the chemical markers show up only in the blood of patients in the relatively early stages of ME.
但是，这项研究仍处于初步阶段，仍有许多问题等待解决。比如，为何只能在早期患者的血液中发现化学标识物？

Dr Hornig’s team is now looking for signs of the infection that triggered the immune response. Scientists have long thought a virus is to blame but have failed to find the culprit.
何宁博士的研究队伍正在寻找引发免疫反应的感染标志。科学家们一直认为病毒是罪魁祸首，但却一直未能找到这种病毒。

Dr Neil Abbot, of ME Research UK said: ‘A biological signature or thumbprint for ME is the holy grail – it’s what we all want to see. If the immune changes reported in the study can help, it would be a great step forward.’
英国肌痛性脑脊髓炎研究所的尼尔·阿博特博士说：“肌痛性脑脊髓炎的生物标识物或者特征，就像是我们的圣杯——是我们一直想要看到的。如果这项研究发现的免疫变化能有帮助，那么这将是一次伟大的进步。”

The finding that the chemical signature is seen only in the first stages of ME shows the importance of early diagnosis and treatment, he added.
此项研究发现，仅在肌痛性脑脊髓炎早期阶段才会出现化学标识物。这证明早期的诊断与治疗非常重要，他补充道。

Sonya Chowdhury, of Action for ME, said the work ‘could have significant implications for quicker diagnosis and improved treatments’.
负责肌痛性脑脊髓炎患者行为研究的桑亚·乔杜里表示，这项研究“能够极大提高诊断速度，完善治疗措施。”

But some experts cautioned that the findings are preliminary and that ME research has been ‘bedevilled with false dawns’ for decades.
但也有一些专家警告，这项发现仅仅是初步阶段的成果，而且肌痛性脑脊髓炎的研究者们已经被这种“虚幻的希望”迷惑多年。

Vocabulary

debilitating：使人衰弱的

malingerer：装病者

elude：使迷惑

bedevilled：困扰，折磨