Arnett, S V, Alleva, L M, Korossy-Horwood, R et al. · Medical hypotheses · 2011 · DOI
This review suggests that ME/CFS may develop when the body has trouble controlling infections early on, leading to long-term inflammation in the brain. The authors propose that this inflammatory process—involving both the immune system and the nervous system—could explain many ME/CFS symptoms and why more women are affected than men. They also suggest that anti-inflammatory treatments targeting a protein called TNF might help patients.
This paper provides a potential unifying mechanism explaining multiple ME/CFS symptoms and the female predominance in the disease, which could guide future research directions. If the inflammatory model is correct, it could justify clinical trials of anti-inflammatory treatments that have been difficult to justify previously in ME/CFS.
This is a theoretical review proposing a hypothesis, not original research data demonstrating causation. It does not provide experimental evidence that inflammation causes ME/CFS symptoms, nor does it prove that anti-TNF treatments would be effective—it only argues they warrant investigation based on the proposed mechanism. The paper synthesizes existing literature rather than presenting new empirical findings.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Arnett, S V, Alleva, L M, Korossy-Horwood, R, & Clark, I A (2011). Chronic fatigue syndrome--a neuroimmunological model.. Medical hypotheses. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2011.03.030
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-arnett-2011-chronic-fatigue,
author = {Arnett, S V and Alleva, L M and Korossy-Horwood, R and Clark, I A},
title = {Chronic fatigue syndrome--a neuroimmunological model.},
journal = {Medical hypotheses},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1016/j.mehy.2011.03.030},
note = {PubMed: 21474251},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/arnett-2011-chronic-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/arnett-2011-chronic-fatigue
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.