Castro-Marrero, Jesús, Serrano-Pertierra, Esther, Oliveira-Rodríguez, Myriam et al. · Journal of extracellular vesicles · 2018 · DOI
This small pilot study looked at tiny particles called extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the blood of ME/CFS patients compared to healthy people. The researchers found that ME/CFS patients had higher amounts of these particles, and the particles were smaller than in healthy controls. This suggests that blood tests measuring these particles might one day help doctors identify ME/CFS.
ME/CFS currently has no established diagnostic biomarkers or FDA-approved treatments, making the search for objective tests critical for patient care. If validated in larger studies, EV measurements could provide a blood-based diagnostic tool and potentially reveal new therapeutic targets for this debilitating condition.
This small pilot study does not establish that EV abnormalities cause ME/CFS or prove these particles can reliably diagnose the condition in clinical practice. The findings are preliminary and require independent replication in larger, diverse populations before any clinical application. Correlation between EV changes and disease severity or symptoms was not assessed.
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
Castro-Marrero, Jesús, Serrano-Pertierra, Esther, Oliveira-Rodríguez, Myriam, Zaragozá, Maria Cleofé, Martínez-Martínez, Alba, Blanco-López, María Del Carmen, et al. (2018). Circulating extracellular vesicles as potential biomarkers in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: an exploratory pilot study.. Journal of extracellular vesicles. https://doi.org/10.1080/20013078.2018.1453730
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-castro-marrero-2018-circulating-extracellular,
author = {Castro-Marrero, Jesús and Serrano-Pertierra, Esther and Oliveira-Rodríguez, Myriam and Zaragozá, Maria Cleofé and Martínez-Martínez, Alba and Blanco-López, María Del Carmen and Alegre, José},
title = {Circulating extracellular vesicles as potential biomarkers in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: an exploratory pilot study.},
journal = {Journal of extracellular vesicles},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1080/20013078.2018.1453730},
note = {PubMed: 29696075},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/castro-marrero-2018-circulating-extracellular},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/castro-marrero-2018-circulating-extracellular
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