Fenouillet, Emmanuel, Vigouroux, Aude, Steinberg, Jean Guillaume et al. · Journal of translational medicine · 2016 · DOI
This study examined blood markers and muscle function in 36 ME/CFS patients compared to 11 healthy controls to understand whether biological changes relate to symptoms and quality of life. Researchers found three key differences: problems with muscle response to exercise, increased oxidative stress (cellular damage), and changes in immune cells. These biomarkers correlated with how much ME/CFS affected patients' daily lives, especially in those whose illness started after a severe infection.
This study identifies potential biological mechanisms underlying ME/CFS symptoms—specifically muscle dysfunction, oxidative stress, and immune dysregulation—and links them directly to quality-of-life impairment. The findings suggest that infectious triggers may activate particularly severe biological abnormalities, offering insight into disease heterogeneity and potential therapeutic targets.
This study does not prove that these biomarkers cause ME/CFS or quality-of-life impairment—correlation does not establish causation. The small sample size limits generalizability. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether biomarker abnormalities precede symptom onset or result from chronic illness and reduced activity.
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
Fenouillet, Emmanuel, Vigouroux, Aude, Steinberg, Jean Guillaume, Chagvardieff, Alexandre, Retornaz, Frédérique, Guieu, Regis, et al. (2016). Association of biomarkers with health-related quality of life and history of stressors in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients.. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-016-1010-x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-fenouillet-2016-association-biomarkers,
author = {Fenouillet, Emmanuel and Vigouroux, Aude and Steinberg, Jean Guillaume and Chagvardieff, Alexandre and Retornaz, Frédérique and Guieu, Regis and Jammes, Yves},
title = {Association of biomarkers with health-related quality of life and history of stressors in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients.},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1186/s12967-016-1010-x},
note = {PubMed: 27580693},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fenouillet-2016-association-biomarkers},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fenouillet-2016-association-biomarkers
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