Fagermoen, Even, Sulheim, Dag, Winger, Anette et al. · BMC pediatrics · 2015 · DOI
This study tested whether a low-dose blood pressure medication called clonidine could help adolescents with ME/CFS, particularly those experiencing dizziness when standing up. Researchers found that clonidine did reduce certain stress hormones in the blood and improved some measurements of heart rhythm control while lying down, but it did not relieve the actual symptoms of dizziness or improve heart function during positional changes.
Orthostatic intolerance is a hallmark feature of ME/CFS that severely limits activity in many adolescents. This study directly addresses whether targeting sympathetic overactivity—a proposed mechanism in the condition—can provide clinical benefit, informing whether autonomic-directed therapies warrant further investigation or require different approaches.
This study does not prove that autonomic dysfunction is not central to ME/CFS pathophysiology, only that reducing catecholamines via clonidine does not clinically improve orthostatic symptoms in this population. The lack of symptom improvement does not exclude other autonomic interventions or combination approaches as potentially beneficial. Additionally, findings in adolescents may not generalize to adults with 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
Fagermoen, Even, Sulheim, Dag, Winger, Anette, Andersen, Anders M, Gjerstad, Johannes, Godang, Kristin, et al. (2015). Effects of low-dose clonidine on cardiovascular and autonomic variables in adolescents with chronic fatigue: a randomized controlled trial.. BMC pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-015-0428-2
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-fagermoen-2015-effects-low,
author = {Fagermoen, Even and Sulheim, Dag and Winger, Anette and Andersen, Anders M and Gjerstad, Johannes and Godang, Kristin and Rowe, Peter C and Saul, J Philip and Skovlund, Eva and Wyller, Vegard Bruun},
title = {Effects of low-dose clonidine on cardiovascular and autonomic variables in adolescents with chronic fatigue: a randomized controlled trial.},
journal = {BMC pediatrics},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1186/s12887-015-0428-2},
note = {PubMed: 26357864},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fagermoen-2015-effects-low},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fagermoen-2015-effects-low
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