Gow, J W, Simpson, K, Behan, P O et al. · Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2001 · DOI
Researchers compared two immune system defense pathways (RNase L and PKR) in people with ME/CFS, people with acute stomach infections, and healthy people. The immune pathways were only activated in people with acute infections, not in people with ME/CFS or healthy controls. This finding suggests that these particular immune markers cannot be used as a simple diagnostic test for ME/CFS.
This study addresses a critical need in ME/CFS research—identifying reliable biomarkers for diagnosis. By testing candidate immune markers, the research helps clarify which biological pathways are and are not dysregulated in ME/CFS, preventing false leads in diagnostic development and focusing future research on more promising mechanisms.
This study does not prove that RNase L and PKR pathways are uninvolved in ME/CFS pathogenesis generally—only that their activation patterns do not reliably distinguish CFS patients from healthy people. The study was cross-sectional and relatively small, so it cannot establish causation or confirm that other aspects of these pathways might still be abnormal in ME/CFS.
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
Gow, J W, Simpson, K, Behan, P O, Chaudhuri, A, McKay, I C, & Behan, W M (2001). Antiviral pathway activation in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and acute infection.. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. https://doi.org/10.1086/324357
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-gow-2001-antiviral-pathway,
author = {Gow, J W and Simpson, K and Behan, P O and Chaudhuri, A and McKay, I C and Behan, W M},
title = {Antiviral pathway activation in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and acute infection.},
journal = {Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.1086/324357},
note = {PubMed: 11698994},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/gow-2001-antiviral-pathway},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/gow-2001-antiviral-pathway
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