Gräns, Hanna, Nilsson, Maria, Dahlman-Wright, Karin et al. · Journal of clinical pathology · 2007 · DOI
This study looked at a protein called estrogen receptor beta in immune cells from ME/CFS patients and healthy people. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients had lower levels of this protein compared to healthy controls. Since estrogen plays a role in immune function and ME/CFS affects more women than men, this finding suggests hormone-related immune problems might be involved in the disease.
This study is important because it provides a potential biological mechanism linking the sex bias observed in ME/CFS (more prevalent in women) to dysfunctional estrogen signaling in immune cells. Identifying decreased estrogen receptor expression offers a testable hypothesis for understanding immune dysregulation in ME/CFS and could guide future therapeutic investigations.
This study does not prove that reduced estrogen receptor beta causes ME/CFS, only that an association exists. The study cannot establish whether the reduced expression is a cause or consequence of the disease. The findings are correlational and would need functional studies and replication in larger, more diverse populations before clinical implications can be determined.
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
Gräns, Hanna, Nilsson, Maria, Dahlman-Wright, Karin, & Evengård, Birgitta (2007). Reduced levels of oestrogen receptor beta mRNA in Swedish patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of clinical pathology. https://doi.org/10.1136/jcp.2005.035956
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-grns-2007-reduced-levels,
author = {Gräns, Hanna and Nilsson, Maria and Dahlman-Wright, Karin and Evengård, Birgitta},
title = {Reduced levels of oestrogen receptor beta mRNA in Swedish patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of clinical pathology},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1136/jcp.2005.035956},
note = {PubMed: 16731592},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/grns-2007-reduced-levels},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/grns-2007-reduced-levels
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