Greco, A, Tannock, C, Brostoff, J et al. · AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology · 1997
Researchers used brain MRI scans to look for white matter abnormalities (areas of damage in the brain's connecting tissue) in 43 ME/CFS patients and compared them to 43 healthy control subjects. While some abnormalities were found in both groups, there was no pattern of brain changes that was unique to ME/CFS, suggesting that MRI scans alone cannot diagnose the condition.
This study addresses a critical diagnostic need in ME/CFS: whether brain imaging can objectively identify the condition or distinguish it from psychiatric comorbidities. Understanding the prevalence and specificity of structural brain changes helps clarify whether ME/CFS has identifiable neurobiological markers and informs expectations about what brain imaging can reveal.
This study does not prove that white matter abnormalities are absent in ME/CFS, only that they are not specific to the condition and occur at similar rates in healthy controls. The study cannot determine whether observed changes cause symptoms or are clinically meaningful. Cross-sectional design prevents assessment of whether brain abnormalities develop over disease course or correlate with disease severity.
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
Greco, A, Tannock, C, Brostoff, J, & Costa, D C (1997). Brain MR in chronic fatigue syndrome.. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9282853/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-greco-1997-brain-chronic,
author = {Greco, A and Tannock, C and Brostoff, J and Costa, D C},
title = {Brain MR in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology},
year = {1997},
note = {PubMed: 9282853},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/greco-1997-brain-chronic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/greco-1997-brain-chronic
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