Helliwell, A M, Sweetman, E C, Stockwell, P A et al. · Clinical epigenetics · 2020 · DOI
This study looked at chemical tags on DNA called methylation patterns in people with ME/CFS compared to healthy people. These tags can turn genes on or off without changing the DNA itself. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS have different methylation patterns, particularly in genes related to energy production, immune function, and brain chemistry, which may help explain why they experience the symptoms they do.
This study provides molecular evidence that ME/CFS involves systematic epigenetic changes affecting multiple biological systems, not just isolated abnormalities. Finding consistent patterns across different study methods strengthens the biological basis for ME/CFS and may ultimately lead to new diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets.
This study cannot establish whether the methylation changes cause ME/CFS symptoms or result from the illness and stress it causes. It does not prove that correcting these methylation patterns would improve symptoms, nor does it identify which specific methylation changes are most important for disease mechanisms. The small sample size also means these findings require validation in larger, independent cohorts.
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
Helliwell, A M, Sweetman, E C, Stockwell, P A, Edgar, C D, Chatterjee, A, & Tate, W P (2020). Changes in DNA methylation profiles of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients reflect systemic dysfunctions.. Clinical epigenetics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13148-020-00960-z
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-helliwell-2020-changes-dna,
author = {Helliwell, A M and Sweetman, E C and Stockwell, P A and Edgar, C D and Chatterjee, A and Tate, W P},
title = {Changes in DNA methylation profiles of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients reflect systemic dysfunctions.},
journal = {Clinical epigenetics},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1186/s13148-020-00960-z},
note = {PubMed: 33148325},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/helliwell-2020-changes-dna},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/helliwell-2020-changes-dna
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