Ferrero, Kimberly, Silver, Mitchell, Cocchetto, Alan et al. · Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research · 2017 · DOI
This study examines brain tissue from one person who had ME/CFS and died, looking for physical changes that might explain the illness. Researchers found several abnormalities in the brain including areas of damaged nerve fibers, tangles similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease, and deposits of a protein called amyloid. These findings suggest that ME/CFS may involve damage to the brain's structure and deserve further investigation.
This is one of the rare neuropathological studies providing direct evidence of structural brain changes in ME/CFS, suggesting the disease involves measurable physical damage to the central nervous system rather than being purely functional. For patients, it validates that ME/CFS has biological basis; for researchers, it identifies specific pathological features to investigate further in larger populations and search for potential disease mechanisms.
This single autopsy case cannot establish that these pathological changes are universal to ME/CFS, present in living patients, or causative of the illness symptoms. It does not prove these abnormalities occur in all ME/CFS patients or determine whether similar changes develop in other conditions. The findings suggest potential involvement but do not establish incidence, prevalence, or the timeline of neuropathological development.
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
Ferrero, Kimberly, Silver, Mitchell, Cocchetto, Alan, Masliah, Eliezer, & Langford, Dianne (2017). CNS findings in chronic fatigue syndrome and a neuropathological case report.. Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research. https://doi.org/10.1136/jim-2016-000390
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ferrero-2017-cns-findings,
author = {Ferrero, Kimberly and Silver, Mitchell and Cocchetto, Alan and Masliah, Eliezer and Langford, Dianne},
title = {CNS findings in chronic fatigue syndrome and a neuropathological case report.},
journal = {Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1136/jim-2016-000390},
note = {PubMed: 28386034},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ferrero-2017-cns-findings},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ferrero-2017-cns-findings
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