Busch, Lena, Schriek, Carsten, Paul, Matthias et al. · The Israel Medical Association journal : IMAJ · 2023
This study followed one patient with ME/CFS that developed after a viral infection and measured special proteins in their blood called autoantibodies that mistakenly attack the body's own receptors. When these autoantibodies increased over time, the patient's fatigue and pain symptoms got worse. The researchers also found changes in nerve fibers in the skin that matched these increases, suggesting these autoantibodies may play a role in ME/CFS symptoms.
This research suggests that autoantibodies targeting nerve receptors may be a modifiable biological mechanism underlying ME/CFS symptoms, opening potential avenues for targeted therapies aimed at reducing these autoantibodies. Understanding this connection could help explain why symptoms fluctuate in ME/CFS and inform future treatment strategies beyond symptomatic management.
This case study cannot prove that autoantibodies *cause* ME/CFS or that reducing them will improve symptoms, as it follows only one patient over time. The study demonstrates correlation between autoantibody levels and symptom severity, not definitive causation. Results cannot be generalized to all ME/CFS patients without larger, controlled trials.
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
Busch, Lena, Schriek, Carsten, Paul, Matthias, & Heidecke, Harald (2023). Modulation of Beta-Adrenergic Autoantibodies Over Time in Post-Viral ME/CFS is Related to Fatigue and Pain Symptoms.. The Israel Medical Association journal : IMAJ. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37129123/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-busch-2023-modulation-beta,
author = {Busch, Lena and Schriek, Carsten and Paul, Matthias and Heidecke, Harald},
title = {Modulation of Beta-Adrenergic Autoantibodies Over Time in Post-Viral ME/CFS is Related to Fatigue and Pain Symptoms.},
journal = {The Israel Medical Association journal : IMAJ},
year = {2023},
note = {PubMed: 37129123},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/busch-2023-modulation-beta},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/busch-2023-modulation-beta
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