Byrne, Hollie, Knight, Sarah J, Josev, Elisha K et al. · Journal of neuroscience research · 2024 · DOI
Researchers used brain imaging (MRI) to look at a small brain region called the hypothalamus in teenagers with ME/CFS compared to healthy teenagers. They found some differences in how the hypothalamus connects to other parts of the brain in people with ME/CFS, and these differences appeared related to how long someone had been sick and how severe their fatigue was. This is one of the first studies to examine this specific brain region in adolescents with ME/CFS.
The hypothalamus controls critical functions like energy regulation, sleep, and stress response—all severely disrupted in ME/CFS. This study provides early neurobiological evidence that the hypothalamus may be structurally altered in ME/CFS, potentially helping explain the disease's mechanism and opening new avenues for diagnosis and treatment. Understanding these brain changes in young patients is especially important for early intervention.
This study does not prove that hypothalamic changes cause ME/CFS—it only shows they correlate with the condition. The small sample size and cross-sectional design mean findings require replication in larger groups before being considered definitive. It also cannot explain whether these brain changes are a cause, consequence, or adaptation to the disease.
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
Byrne, Hollie, Knight, Sarah J, Josev, Elisha K, Scheinberg, Adam, Beare, Richard, Yang, Joseph Y M, et al. (2024). Hypothalamus Connectivity in Adolescent Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Journal of neuroscience research. https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.25392
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-byrne-2024-hypothalamus-connectivity,
author = {Byrne, Hollie and Knight, Sarah J and Josev, Elisha K and Scheinberg, Adam and Beare, Richard and Yang, Joseph Y M and Oldham, Stuart and Rowe, Katherine and Seal, Marc L},
title = {Hypothalamus Connectivity in Adolescent Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of neuroscience research},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1002/jnr.25392},
note = {PubMed: 39431934},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/byrne-2024-hypothalamus-connectivity},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/byrne-2024-hypothalamus-connectivity
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