Bertinat, Romina, Villalobos-Labra, Roberto, Hofmann, Lidija et al. · Vascular pharmacology · 2022 · DOI
This study looked at how blood from ME/CFS patients affects the inner lining of blood vessels in a laboratory setting. Researchers found that blood vessels exposed to ME/CFS patient blood produced less of a substance called nitric oxide, which is important for healthy blood vessel function. This suggests that problems with blood vessel health in ME/CFS patients may involve reduced nitric oxide production.
Endothelial dysfunction has been observed in some ME/CFS patients and may contribute to symptoms like fatigue and exercise intolerance. This research identifies a specific molecular mechanism—reduced nitric oxide production—that could underlie blood vessel dysfunction in ME/CFS, potentially opening new avenues for understanding disease pathophysiology and developing targeted treatments.
This laboratory study does not prove that the identified nitric oxide deficiency occurs in patients' bodies or causes ME/CFS symptoms. Because the study uses plasma components in cell culture rather than intact living systems, it cannot establish causation or determine whether this mechanism is primary or secondary to other disease processes. The findings require validation in larger patient cohorts and in vivo 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
Bertinat, Romina, Villalobos-Labra, Roberto, Hofmann, Lidija, Blauensteiner, Jennifer, Sepúlveda, Nuno, & Westermeier, Francisco (2022). Decreased NO production in endothelial cells exposed to plasma from ME/CFS patients.. Vascular pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vph.2022.106953
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bertinat-2022-decreased-production,
author = {Bertinat, Romina and Villalobos-Labra, Roberto and Hofmann, Lidija and Blauensteiner, Jennifer and Sepúlveda, Nuno and Westermeier, Francisco},
title = {Decreased NO production in endothelial cells exposed to plasma from ME/CFS patients.},
journal = {Vascular pharmacology},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1016/j.vph.2022.106953},
note = {PubMed: 35074481},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bertinat-2022-decreased-production},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bertinat-2022-decreased-production
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