Gottfries, Carl-Gerhard, Matousek, Michael, Zachrisson, Olof · Lakartidningen · 2009
This review article examines how problems with the immune system may explain why people with ME/CFS experience persistent fatigue and other symptoms. The authors argue that biological evidence supports the idea that ME/CFS is a real physical illness rather than a psychological one, with immune system disturbances playing a central role in the condition.
This work contributes to the growing body of evidence establishing ME/CFS as a biologically-based illness with measurable immune abnormalities. For patients, this supports the validity of their illness experience and counters stigmatizing narratives attributing symptoms solely to psychological causes.
As a narrative review without original data, this study does not prove causation between specific immune disturbances and ME/CFS symptoms. The presence of immune abnormalities does not establish which disturbances are primary causes versus secondary consequences of illness. It also does not definitively rule out psychological contributions to symptom perpetuation.
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
Gottfries, Carl-Gerhard, Matousek, Michael, & Zachrisson, Olof (2009). [Immunologic disturbances can explain chronic fatigue syndrome. Biological findings point towards somatogenesis].. Lakartidningen. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19817178/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-gottfries-2009-immunologic-disturbances,
author = {Gottfries, Carl-Gerhard and Matousek, Michael and Zachrisson, Olof},
title = {[Immunologic disturbances can explain chronic fatigue syndrome. Biological findings point towards somatogenesis].},
journal = {Lakartidningen},
year = {2009},
note = {PubMed: 19817178},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/gottfries-2009-immunologic-disturbances},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/gottfries-2009-immunologic-disturbances
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