Chalmers, Ronald A, Jones, Mark G, Goodwin, C Stewart et al. · Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry · 2006 · DOI
An earlier study claimed to find two special markers in the urine of ME/CFS patients that could help diagnose the condition. This study re-examined those findings and discovered that these supposed markers were actually just artifacts—unintended byproducts created by the way the urine samples were prepared in the lab, not real biological differences between patients and healthy people.
This critical replication study is important because it prevented a false biomarker from being used clinically or driving unproductive research directions in ME/CFS. It demonstrates the necessity for rigorous chemical identification and validation of proposed biological markers before they are accepted as disease indicators.
This study does not prove that urinary biomarkers for ME/CFS do not exist—only that these specific previously reported compounds were methodological artifacts. It also does not address whether other metabolic abnormalities might genuinely distinguish ME/CFS patients from healthy individuals or other disease groups.
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
Chalmers, Ronald A, Jones, Mark G, Goodwin, C Stewart, & Amjad, Saira (2006). CFSUM1 and CFSUM2 in urine from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome are methodological artefacts.. Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cccn.2005.05.036
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-chalmers-2006-cfsum1-cfsum2,
author = {Chalmers, Ronald A and Jones, Mark G and Goodwin, C Stewart and Amjad, Saira},
title = {CFSUM1 and CFSUM2 in urine from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome are methodological artefacts.},
journal = {Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1016/j.cccn.2005.05.036},
note = {PubMed: 16095585},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chalmers-2006-cfsum1-cfsum2},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chalmers-2006-cfsum1-cfsum2
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