Brenu, Ekua W, van Driel, Mieke L, Staines, Donald R et al. · Journal of translational medicine · 2012 · DOI
This study tracked immune system changes in 65 people with ME/CFS over one year, comparing them to 21 healthy controls. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS had consistently lower natural killer (NK) cell activity—immune cells that help fight infections—throughout the year. They also found changes in inflammatory molecules called cytokines that fluctuated at different time points.
This research identifies persistent immune dysfunction in ME/CFS and suggests NK cell activity could be a reliable biological marker for diagnosis—important because ME/CFS currently lacks a specific diagnostic test. Understanding which immune abnormalities remain stable over time helps researchers distinguish core disease mechanisms from secondary changes and could guide development of targeted treatments.
This study does not establish that reduced NK cell activity causes ME/CFS or determine whether immune changes lead to symptom severity. The study also cannot explain why cytokine levels fluctuated differently at different timepoints, and correlations observed do not prove causation of infections or other complications in ME/CFS patients.
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
Brenu, Ekua W, van Driel, Mieke L, Staines, Donald R, Ashton, Kevin J, Hardcastle, Sharni L, Keane, James, et al. (2012). Longitudinal investigation of natural killer cells and cytokines in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5876-10-88
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-brenu-2012-longitudinal-investigation,
author = {Brenu, Ekua W and van Driel, Mieke L and Staines, Donald R and Ashton, Kevin J and Hardcastle, Sharni L and Keane, James and Tajouri, Lotti and Peterson, Daniel and Ramos, Sandra B and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya M},
title = {Longitudinal investigation of natural killer cells and cytokines in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1186/1479-5876-10-88},
note = {PubMed: 22571715},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/brenu-2012-longitudinal-investigation},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/brenu-2012-longitudinal-investigation
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