Durlach, J, Pagès, N, Bac, P et al. · Magnesium research · 2002
This paper suggests that low magnesium levels may disrupt the body's internal clock (circadian rhythm) in two opposite ways. In one pattern, the clock runs too fast, causing depression, nighttime headaches, and fatigue—similar to symptoms in ME/CFS and fibromyalgia. In the other pattern, the clock runs too slow, causing anxiety, migraines, and sleep problems. The authors propose that measuring melatonin levels could help distinguish between these two patterns and guide treatment.
ME/CFS patients frequently experience sleep disruption, fatigue, and abnormal circadian patterns alongside magnesium deficiency reports. This framework offers a mechanistic hypothesis linking magnesium depletion to circadian dysregulation, potentially explaining heterogeneous symptom presentations and suggesting targeted chronotherapeutic interventions. Understanding whether ME/CFS represents a 'fast clock' or 'slow clock' variant could inform personalized treatment strategies.
This study presents a theoretical classification scheme without empirical validation, clinical trials, or patient cohort data. It does not establish whether magnesium depletion actually *causes* these chronopathological forms or merely correlates with them, nor does it prove that melatonin is the sole relevant marker or that the proposed treatments are effective in ME/CFS populations specifically.
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
Durlach, J, Pagès, N, Bac, P, Bara, M, Guiet-Bara, A, & Agrapart, C (2002). Chronopathological forms of magnesium depletion with hypofunction or with hyperfunction of the biological clock.. Magnesium research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12635882/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-durlach-2002-chronopathological-forms,
author = {Durlach, J and Pagès, N and Bac, P and Bara, M and Guiet-Bara, A and Agrapart, C},
title = {Chronopathological forms of magnesium depletion with hypofunction or with hyperfunction of the biological clock.},
journal = {Magnesium research},
year = {2002},
note = {PubMed: 12635882},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/durlach-2002-chronopathological-forms},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/durlach-2002-chronopathological-forms
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