Hung, Li-Yuan, Wu, Chan-Shuo, Chang, Chia-Jung et al. · Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025 · DOI
Researchers used advanced computer analysis to examine genetic information from people with severe ME/CFS, looking for patterns in how genes work together. They found that ME/CFS involves multiple body systems working incorrectly, particularly the immune and nervous systems, and discovered connections to viral infections like EBV and COVID-19. The study also found clues about why more women than men develop ME/CFS, relating to how estrogen affects the body.
This study provides a systems-level perspective on ME/CFS biology, moving beyond single-gene approaches to understand how multiple biological networks interact in severe disease. The identification of specific pathways—particularly viral triggers, immune dysfunction, and hormonal factors—could guide development of new diagnostic markers and targeted treatments. Understanding why women are disproportionately affected also has important implications for both research equity and clinical care.
This pilot study does not prove that any identified genes or pathways cause ME/CFS, only that they are statistically associated with the disease in this particular cohort. The findings are computational predictions based on genetic data and require experimental validation to confirm biological relevance. This study also cannot establish whether identified associations are primary causes, secondary effects, or compensatory responses to the underlying disease process.
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
Hung, Li-Yuan, Wu, Chan-Shuo, Chang, Chia-Jung, Li, Peng, Hicks, Kimberly, Dibble, Joshua J, et al. (2025). A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study.. Frontiers in human neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1509346
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hung-2025-network-medicine,
author = {Hung, Li-Yuan and Wu, Chan-Shuo and Chang, Chia-Jung and Li, Peng and Hicks, Kimberly and Dibble, Joshua J and Morrison, Braxton and Smith, Chimere L and Davis, Ronald W and Xiao, Wenzhong},
title = {A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study.},
journal = {Frontiers in human neuroscience},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2025.1509346},
note = {PubMed: 39996021},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hung-2025-network-medicine},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hung-2025-network-medicine
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