Hokama, Yoshitsugi, Campora, Cara Empey, Hara, Cynthia et al. · Journal of clinical laboratory analysis · 2009 · DOI
Researchers tested blood samples from ME/CFS patients and found abnormal antibodies called anticardiolipin antibodies (ACAs) in 95% of the samples. These antibodies mistakenly attack cardiolipin, a substance found in cell membranes. The study suggests that something in the immune system may be going wrong in ME/CFS, possibly affecting how cells produce energy.
Discovering immune markers like anticardiolipin antibodies in ME/CFS patients could help explain the biological basis of the disease and may eventually support earlier or more accurate diagnosis. If confirmed in larger studies with controls, this finding could open new research directions into autoimmune and metabolic mechanisms in ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that anticardiolipin antibodies cause ME/CFS or that they are responsible for the illness. The study lacks a control group (healthy individuals or other patient populations), so we cannot determine whether these antibodies are specific to ME/CFS or are also present in other conditions. The finding is correlational, not causal.
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
Hokama, Yoshitsugi, Campora, Cara Empey, Hara, Cynthia, Kuribayashi, Tina, Le Huynh, Diana, & Yabusaki, Kenichi (2009). Anticardiolipin antibodies in the sera of patients with diagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of clinical laboratory analysis. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcla.20325
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hokama-2009-anticardiolipin-antibodies,
author = {Hokama, Yoshitsugi and Campora, Cara Empey and Hara, Cynthia and Kuribayashi, Tina and Le Huynh, Diana and Yabusaki, Kenichi},
title = {Anticardiolipin antibodies in the sera of patients with diagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of clinical laboratory analysis},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1002/jcla.20325},
note = {PubMed: 19623655},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hokama-2009-anticardiolipin-antibodies},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hokama-2009-anticardiolipin-antibodies
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