Ahmed, Nadia S, Gottlob, Irene, Proudlock, Frank A et al. · Vision (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018 · DOI
This study looked at how ME affects vision by testing how well people can see contrast (the difference between light and dark areas). Researchers tested 19 people with ME and 19 healthy people by asking them to identify faint striped patterns. People with ME had more difficulty seeing these patterns, especially at lower levels of detail, suggesting that ME may affect how the eyes and brain process visual information.
Visual symptoms in ME are common but under-investigated and not formally recognized in diagnostic criteria. This study provides objective, quantifiable evidence that contrast sensitivity deficits may serve as a biomarker for ME, potentially improving diagnostic accuracy and offering a measurable window into central nervous system dysfunction in this poorly understood disease.
This study does not establish whether contrast sensitivity deficits are specific to ME or occur in other conditions. It does not prove that visual processing abnormalities cause ME's fatigue or other systemic symptoms, nor does it clarify the underlying biological mechanism. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether these deficits precede illness onset, develop during illness, or persist in recovery.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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