Beentjes, Sjoerd Viktor, Miralles Méharon, Artur, Kaczmarczyk, Julia et al. · EMBO molecular medicine · 2025 · DOI
Researchers found multiple blood markers that distinguish ME/CFS patients from healthy people, including signs of inflammation, insulin problems, and liver issues. Importantly, these differences were NOT caused by patients being physically inactive—they are genuine biological changes related to the disease itself. While no single blood test can diagnose ME/CFS yet, these findings suggest that a combination of blood markers could eventually provide objective diagnosis.
This study provides crucial biological evidence that ME/CFS is a real disease with measurable physical abnormalities, not simply deconditioning from inactivity—a persistent misconception. The identification of replicable biomarkers across two large biobanks moves the field closer to objective diagnosis, which could reduce diagnostic delays and improve patient care. For researchers, these findings deepen understanding of ME/CFS pathophysiology and identify potential therapeutic targets.
This study does not prove that any single blood test can diagnose ME/CFS or that these biomarkers cause ME/CFS symptoms. The findings are correlational and do not establish whether inflammation and metabolic dysfunction are primary disease drivers or secondary consequences. The biomarker panel's clinical utility for individual patient diagnosis remains to be determined in prospective validation studies.
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
Beentjes, Sjoerd Viktor, Miralles Méharon, Artur, Kaczmarczyk, Julia, Cassar, Amanda, Samms, Gemma Louise, Hejazi, Nima S, et al. (2025). Replicated blood-based biomarkers for myalgic encephalomyelitis not explicable by inactivity.. EMBO molecular medicine. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44321-025-00258-8
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-beentjes-2025-replicated-blood,
author = {Beentjes, Sjoerd Viktor and Miralles Méharon, Artur and Kaczmarczyk, Julia and Cassar, Amanda and Samms, Gemma Louise and Hejazi, Nima S and Khamseh, Ava and Ponting, Chris P},
title = {Replicated blood-based biomarkers for myalgic encephalomyelitis not explicable by inactivity.},
journal = {EMBO molecular medicine},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1038/s44321-025-00258-8},
note = {PubMed: 40537675},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/beentjes-2025-replicated-blood},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/beentjes-2025-replicated-blood
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