Domingues, Tiago Dias, Grabowska, Anna D, Lee, Ji-Sook et al. · Frontiers in medicine · 2021 · DOI
This study looked at whether common herpes viruses (like the ones that cause cold sores and chickenpox) are connected to ME/CFS, and whether different groups of patients—based on what triggered their illness—have different patterns of virus exposure. Researchers tested blood samples from ME/CFS patients and healthy people to see if they had antibodies to these viruses. They found some differences between patient groups, but the results were weak and inconsistent depending on how they analyzed the data.
ME/CFS patients and their clinicians have long suspected that persistent herpesvirus infections may contribute to the disease. This study is important because it shows that different subgroups of ME/CFS patients—particularly those whose illness was triggered by a confirmed infection—may have different immune responses to these viruses, which could eventually help identify ME/CFS subtypes and guide treatment decisions.
This study does not prove that herpesviruses cause ME/CFS or that they drive the illness in most patients. The findings are statistically weak and depend heavily on which statistical methods and cutoff values are used, meaning they may not hold up with different analytical approaches. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causation—even if herpesvirus serology patterns differ, this does not demonstrate that the viruses cause ME/CFS.
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
Domingues, Tiago Dias, Grabowska, Anna D, Lee, Ji-Sook, Ameijeiras-Alonso, Jose, Westermeier, Francisco, Scheibenbogen, Carmen, et al. (2021). Herpesviruses Serology Distinguishes Different Subgroups of Patients From the United Kingdom Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Biobank.. Frontiers in medicine. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.686736
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-domingues-2021-herpesviruses-serology,
author = {Domingues, Tiago Dias and Grabowska, Anna D and Lee, Ji-Sook and Ameijeiras-Alonso, Jose and Westermeier, Francisco and Scheibenbogen, Carmen and Cliff, Jacqueline M and Nacul, Luis and Lacerda, Eliana M and Mouriño, Helena and Sepúlveda, Nuno},
title = {Herpesviruses Serology Distinguishes Different Subgroups of Patients From the United Kingdom Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Biobank.},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2021.686736},
note = {PubMed: 34291062},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/domingues-2021-herpesviruses-serology},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/domingues-2021-herpesviruses-serology
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.