Brewer, Joseph H, Thrasher, Jack D, Straus, David C et al. · Toxins · 2013 · DOI
Researchers tested urine samples from 112 ME/CFS patients to see if they had been exposed to mycotoxins—toxic substances produced by mold found in water-damaged buildings. They found that 93% of patients had detectable mycotoxins in their urine, with most patients having been exposed to moldy buildings. When they tested urine from 55 healthy people with no mold exposure, none showed mycotoxins at detectable levels.
This research suggests a potential environmental exposure pathway in ME/CFS, specifically mold and mycotoxins from water-damaged buildings. Understanding environmental triggers could help patients identify avoidable exposures and inform investigations into mechanisms of ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that mycotoxins cause ME/CFS, only that they are detected more frequently in CFS patients than in controls without WDB exposure. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causation or determine whether mycotoxin exposure preceded illness onset. It also does not show whether mycotoxins directly cause CFS symptoms or whether they are markers of a broader environmental exposure.
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 →
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