Bliksrud, Yngve Thomas · Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke · 2017 · DOI
This study examined whether a specific metabolic enzyme problem called pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency might be connected to ME/CFS. The researchers found only a weak or unclear link between this enzyme deficiency and ME/CFS symptoms, suggesting it is not a major cause of the illness for most patients.
Understanding whether specific metabolic enzyme deficiencies cause ME/CFS is crucial for developing targeted treatments. This study helps clarify that PDH deficiency, while theoretically relevant to energy metabolism, is unlikely to be a common underlying cause of ME/CFS, redirecting research efforts toward other metabolic and immunological mechanisms.
This study does not prove that PDH deficiency plays no role in any ME/CFS cases, only that it is not a consistent or major etiological factor. The weak link identified does not exclude PDH involvement in specific patient subgroups. The findings do not address whether secondary PDH dysfunction occurs as a consequence rather than cause of ME/CFS.
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
Bliksrud, Yngve Thomas (2017). Tenuous link between chronic fatigue syndrome and pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency.. Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke. https://doi.org/10.4045/tidsskr.17.0948
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bliksrud-2017-tenuous-link,
author = {Bliksrud, Yngve Thomas},
title = {Tenuous link between chronic fatigue syndrome and pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency.},
journal = {Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.4045/tidsskr.17.0948},
note = {PubMed: 29231630},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bliksrud-2017-tenuous-link},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bliksrud-2017-tenuous-link
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