Hassan, I S, Bannister, B A, Akbar, A et al. · Clinical immunology and immunopathology · 1998 · DOI
This study examined immune system markers in 44 people with ME/CFS to see how these markers related to symptom severity and mental health. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients had unusual patterns in their immune cells—specifically, signs of increased immune activation and changes in how lymphocytes (white blood cells) behave. These immune changes correlated with worse physical function, pain, and mental health symptoms.
This study provided early evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable immune system dysfunction, not psychological illness alone. Understanding how specific immune abnormalities correlate with symptom severity may help develop targeted treatments and validate ME/CFS as a biological condition.
This study does not prove that immune changes cause ME/CFS symptoms—only that they correlate. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or temporal relationships. It also does not demonstrate whether these immune changes are specific to ME/CFS or occur in other conditions, and it does not establish which immune changes are primary versus secondary responses.
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
Hassan, I S, Bannister, B A, Akbar, A, Weir, W, & Bofill, M (1998). A study of the immunology of the chronic fatigue syndrome: correlation of immunologic parameters to health dysfunction.. Clinical immunology and immunopathology. https://doi.org/10.1006/clin.1997.4512
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hassan-1998-study-immunology,
author = {Hassan, I S and Bannister, B A and Akbar, A and Weir, W and Bofill, M},
title = {A study of the immunology of the chronic fatigue syndrome: correlation of immunologic parameters to health dysfunction.},
journal = {Clinical immunology and immunopathology},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1006/clin.1997.4512},
note = {PubMed: 9576011},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hassan-1998-study-immunology},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hassan-1998-study-immunology
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