Giloteaux, Ludovic, Goodrich, Julia K, Walters, William A et al. · Microbiome · 2016 · DOI
This study found that people with ME/CFS have different gut bacteria compared to healthy people. The bacteria in ME/CFS patients showed less diversity and included more potentially harmful species while having fewer beneficial ones. Additionally, researchers detected signs in the blood suggesting that bacteria or bacterial components may be leaking through the gut lining, which could contribute to inflammation and symptoms.
This research provides biological evidence that gut microbiota changes are associated with ME/CFS, potentially explaining gastrointestinal symptoms reported by many patients. It opens new avenues for understanding disease mechanisms and suggests the gut microbiome could be a therapeutic target for intervention studies.
This study shows association, not causation—we cannot conclude that dysbiosis causes ME/CFS or that correcting it will reverse the disease. The cross-sectional design means we don't know if dysbiosis precedes disease onset or develops as a consequence of being ill. Results cannot be generalized beyond the specific patient population studied.
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
Giloteaux, Ludovic, Goodrich, Julia K, Walters, William A, Levine, Susan M, Ley, Ruth E, & Hanson, Maureen R (2016). Reduced diversity and altered composition of the gut microbiome in individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.. Microbiome. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-016-0171-4
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-giloteaux-2016-reduced-diversity,
author = {Giloteaux, Ludovic and Goodrich, Julia K and Walters, William A and Levine, Susan M and Ley, Ruth E and Hanson, Maureen R},
title = {Reduced diversity and altered composition of the gut microbiome in individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Microbiome},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1186/s40168-016-0171-4},
note = {PubMed: 27338587},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/giloteaux-2016-reduced-diversity},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/giloteaux-2016-reduced-diversity
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.