Fonseca, André, Szysz, Mateusz, Ly, Hoang Thien et al. · Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024 · DOI
Researchers examined immune responses (antibodies) against Epstein-Barr virus in ME/CFS patients to see if these could be used to diagnose the condition. They found that a specific set of 26 antibodies could reliably identify ME/CFS patients whose illness started after an infection, but these antibodies don't appear to explain why the autoimmune problems occur. The findings suggest that while these antibodies might be useful for diagnosis in some patients, they may not be the root cause of ME/CFS.
This study addresses a critical need in ME/CFS research: identifying biological markers for diagnosis, particularly in the subset of patients whose illness began after infection. Understanding which antibodies distinguish ME/CFS patients could eventually improve diagnosis and help researchers understand disease mechanisms, potentially leading to better treatments.
This study does not prove that EBV antibodies cause ME/CFS or that molecular mimicry explains the disease pathology. The inability to develop a classifier for all ME/CFS patients suggests that EBV antibody patterns alone are not universal diagnostic markers. The findings are correlational and cannot establish causation or identify the underlying mechanisms driving the illness.
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
Fonseca, André, Szysz, Mateusz, Ly, Hoang Thien, Cordeiro, Clara, & Sepúlveda, Nuno (2024). IgG Antibody Responses to Epstein-Barr Virus in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Their Effective Potential for Disease Diagnosis and Pathological Antigenic Mimicry.. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania). https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina60010161
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-fonseca-2024-igg-antibody,
author = {Fonseca, André and Szysz, Mateusz and Ly, Hoang Thien and Cordeiro, Clara and Sepúlveda, Nuno},
title = {IgG Antibody Responses to Epstein-Barr Virus in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Their Effective Potential for Disease Diagnosis and Pathological Antigenic Mimicry.},
journal = {Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.3390/medicina60010161},
note = {PubMed: 38256421},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fonseca-2024-igg-antibody},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fonseca-2024-igg-antibody
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