Baraniuk, James N, Adewuyi, Oluwatoyin, Merck, Samantha Jean et al. · American journal of translational research · 2013
This study created a scoring system to help doctors better identify and measure ME/CFS severity by combining eight common symptoms (fatigue, pain, cognitive problems, sleep issues, and post-exertion exhaustion). Researchers found that a total symptom score of 14 or higher, combined with moderate-to-severe fatigue, accurately distinguished ME/CFS patients from healthy people. This scoring system was highly consistent and may help match patients to specific disease subtypes.
This study provides a quantitative, standardized approach to ME/CFS diagnosis and symptom measurement that could improve clinical consistency and help identify disease subtypes. Linking symptom profiles to biological markers (proteomics) in cerebrospinal fluid suggests this scoring system may eventually enable precision medicine approaches and better patient stratification for treatment trials.
This study does not prove that the Sum8 score causes the proteomic changes observed, nor does it establish causation for any symptom-mechanism relationships. The preliminary clustering of proteomics requires independent validation, and cross-sectional design cannot determine whether symptom patterns predict disease progression or treatment response. The identified CFS-Like patients with insufficient fatigue (CFSLWIFS) represent a small subgroup whose clinical significance remains unclear.
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
Baraniuk, James N, Adewuyi, Oluwatoyin, Merck, Samantha Jean, Ali, Mushtaq, Ravindran, Murugan K, Timbol, Christian R, et al. (2013). A Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) severity score based on case designation criteria.. American journal of translational research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23390566/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-baraniuk-2013-chronic-fatigue,
author = {Baraniuk, James N and Adewuyi, Oluwatoyin and Merck, Samantha Jean and Ali, Mushtaq and Ravindran, Murugan K and Timbol, Christian R and Rayhan, Rakib and Zheng, Yin and Le, Uyenphuong and Esteitie, Rania and Petrie, Kristina N},
title = {A Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) severity score based on case designation criteria.},
journal = {American journal of translational research},
year = {2013},
note = {PubMed: 23390566},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/baraniuk-2013-chronic-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/baraniuk-2013-chronic-fatigue
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