de Vega, Wilfred C, Herrera, Santiago, Vernon, Suzanne D et al. · BMC medical genomics · 2017 · DOI
This study looked at chemical tags attached to DNA in immune cells from ME/CFS patients and compared them to healthy people. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients had different patterns of these chemical tags, especially in genes related to how cells produce energy. Some of these differences were linked to patients' reported quality of life, suggesting that changes in how genes are regulated may contribute to ME/CFS symptoms.
Understanding epigenetic modifications in ME/CFS could help identify biological mechanisms underlying the disease and lead to objective biomarkers for diagnosis. The link between DNA methylation patterns and glucocorticoid sensitivity is particularly important because the HPA axis dysfunction is a consistently observed feature in ME/CFS, and biomarkers could improve clinical testing and patient stratification.
This study demonstrates correlation between DNA methylation patterns and ME/CFS but does not prove that these epigenetic changes cause the disease—they could be consequences of the illness rather than causes. The findings are limited to female patients and peripheral blood cells, so results may not apply to male ME/CFS patients or other tissue types. The study does not establish whether these methylation changes are reversible or how they develop over time.
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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Primary citation
de Vega, Wilfred C, Herrera, Santiago, Vernon, Suzanne D, & McGowan, Patrick O (2017). Epigenetic modifications and glucocorticoid sensitivity in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).. BMC medical genomics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12920-017-0248-3
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-de-vega-2017-epigenetic-modifications,
author = {de Vega, Wilfred C and Herrera, Santiago and Vernon, Suzanne D and McGowan, Patrick O},
title = {Epigenetic modifications and glucocorticoid sensitivity in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).},
journal = {BMC medical genomics},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1186/s12920-017-0248-3},
note = {PubMed: 28231836},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/de-vega-2017-epigenetic-modifications},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/de-vega-2017-epigenetic-modifications
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