Booth, Norman E, Myhill, Sarah, McLaren-Howard, John · International journal of clinical and experimental medicine · 2012
This study tested whether ME/CFS fatigue is caused by problems with how cells produce energy. Researchers measured energy production in immune cells from 138 ME/CFS patients and compared them to healthy controls, finding that all patients had measurable problems with their cellular energy factories (mitochondria) that matched how sick they felt. The study also found signs of tissue damage in the blood, suggesting these energy problems affect many cells throughout the body.
This research provides objective biological evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable cellular energy defects rather than purely psychological causes, potentially validating patients' experiences. Identifying these mitochondrial problems and their mechanisms could guide development of targeted treatments and establish a useful diagnostic test for clinical practice.
This study does not establish that mitochondrial dysfunction is the sole cause of ME/CFS, as correlation does not prove causation—the dysfunction could be secondary to another disease process. The small healthy control group and lack of longitudinal follow-up mean the findings cannot demonstrate whether these mitochondrial changes persist, improve, or worsen over time. The study also does not confirm whether findings in neutrophils definitively represent dysfunction in other tissue types, despite indirect evidence.
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
Booth, Norman E, Myhill, Sarah, & McLaren-Howard, John (2012). Mitochondrial dysfunction and the pathophysiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).. International journal of clinical and experimental medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22837795/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-booth-2012-mitochondrial-dysfunction,
author = {Booth, Norman E and Myhill, Sarah and McLaren-Howard, John},
title = {Mitochondrial dysfunction and the pathophysiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).},
journal = {International journal of clinical and experimental medicine},
year = {2012},
note = {PubMed: 22837795},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/booth-2012-mitochondrial-dysfunction},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/booth-2012-mitochondrial-dysfunction
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