Bennett, A L, Chao, C C, Hu, S et al. · Journal of clinical immunology · 1997 · DOI
Researchers measured a protein called TGF-beta in the blood of ME/CFS patients and compared it to healthy people and patients with other diseases like lupus and multiple sclerosis. They found that ME/CFS patients had significantly higher levels of this protein than all the other groups studied. This suggests that TGF-beta might play a role in ME/CFS, though more research is needed to understand exactly how.
This study identifies a measurable biological abnormality in ME/CFS that distinguishes it from other diseases with similar symptoms, potentially supporting the search for objective diagnostic markers. Elevation of TGF-beta, an immunomodulatory cytokine, provides a biological clue to disease mechanisms and could guide future therapeutic research.
This study does not prove that elevated TGF-beta causes ME/CFS—it only shows an association. It does not determine whether TGF-beta elevation is a primary driver of illness, a secondary consequence of the disease process, or whether lowering TGF-beta would improve symptoms. Cross-sectional measurement cannot establish temporal relationships or mechanistic function.
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
Bennett, A L, Chao, C C, Hu, S, Buchwald, D, Fagioli, L R, Schur, P H, et al. (1997). Elevation of bioactive transforming growth factor-beta in serum from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of clinical immunology. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1027330616073
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bennett-1997-elevation-bioactive,
author = {Bennett, A L and Chao, C C and Hu, S and Buchwald, D and Fagioli, L R and Schur, P H and Peterson, P K and Komaroff, A L},
title = {Elevation of bioactive transforming growth factor-beta in serum from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of clinical immunology},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1023/a:1027330616073},
note = {PubMed: 9083892},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bennett-1997-elevation-bioactive},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bennett-1997-elevation-bioactive
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