De Becker, P, De Meirleir, K, Joos, E et al. · Hormone and metabolic research = Hormon- und Stoffwechselforschung = Hormones et metabolisme · 1999 · DOI
This study tested how the adrenal glands respond to a hormone signal in ME/CFS patients compared to healthy people. Researchers gave a hormone called ACTH to 22 ME/CFS patients and 14 healthy controls, then measured DHEA levels over an hour. While starting DHEA levels were normal, ME/CFS patients showed a weaker increase in DHEA after the hormone injection compared to healthy controls.
This research provides direct evidence of abnormal adrenal gland function in ME/CFS, supporting the theory that hormonal dysregulation—specifically inadequate stress hormone responses—may underlie some of the immune system disturbances and fatigue symptoms patients experience. Understanding these endocrine abnormalities could eventually lead to targeted hormone-based treatments for ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that the blunted DHEA response causes ME/CFS symptoms or is the primary driver of disease. It also does not establish whether this adrenal dysfunction is a cause, consequence, or marker of the disease process, nor does it demonstrate whether correcting this response would improve patient outcomes.
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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