Growth differentiation factor 15
 | This article is a stub. |
Growth Differentiation Factor 15 or GDF15 is a cytokine and circulating protein produced in the body in response to different stressors.[1][2] Circulating GDF15 levels are known to be highly elevated in mitochondrial disorders, which have early skeletal muscle fatigue as a key symptom.[2]
ME/CFS[edit | edit source]
Melvin et al. (2019) investigated GDF15 could act as a potential biomarker of cellular stress in ME/CFS patients, finding that GDF15 levels were positively correlated with fatigue levels in ME/CFS patients.[2] The same study, which compared GDF15 levels in 50 patients with severe ME/CFS and 100 patients with mild/moderate ME/CFS, found higher GDF15 levels in patients with ME/CFS than in patients with multiple sclerosis or healthy controls, with the more severely ill ME/CFS patients having the highest levels.[2]
