Berkis, Uldis, Svirskis, Simons, Krumina, Angelika et al. · Frontiers in immunology · 2023 · DOI
This study looked for blood markers that could help doctors understand how severe ME/CFS is and track disease progression. Researchers measured inflammation-related proteins, immune system components, and antibodies against nerve receptors in blood samples from healthy people and patients with mild, moderate, and severe ME/CFS. They found that certain markers—especially antibodies against beta2-adrenergic and M4 receptors, along with specific immune proteins—showed promise for distinguishing disease severity, with over 90% accuracy in identifying who has ME/CFS versus who is healthy.
ME/CFS currently lacks validated diagnostic biomarkers, making clinical assessment subjective and treatment planning difficult. Identifying blood markers that correlate with disease severity could enable objective disease monitoring, personalized treatment selection, and better tracking of disease progression—potentially improving clinical management and outcomes for ME/CFS patients.
This study does not prove that these biomarkers cause ME/CFS or its progression—it only shows associations. The modest 45% accuracy for distinguishing severity levels suggests these markers alone cannot reliably predict disease stage, and findings require prospective validation in independent patient cohorts before clinical implementation. Cross-sectional design prevents determination of whether biomarker changes precede, accompany, or follow symptom progression.
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
Berkis, Uldis, Svirskis, Simons, Krumina, Angelika, Gravelsina, Sabine, Vilmane, Anda, Araja, Diana, et al. (2023). Exploring the joint potential of inflammation, immunity, and receptor-based biomarkers for evaluating ME/CFS progression.. Frontiers in immunology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1294758
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-berkis-2023-exploring-joint,
author = {Berkis, Uldis and Svirskis, Simons and Krumina, Angelika and Gravelsina, Sabine and Vilmane, Anda and Araja, Diana and Nora-Krukle, Zaiga and Murovska, Modra},
title = {Exploring the joint potential of inflammation, immunity, and receptor-based biomarkers for evaluating ME/CFS progression.},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2023.1294758},
note = {PubMed: 38187396},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/berkis-2023-exploring-joint},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/berkis-2023-exploring-joint
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