Jahanbani, Fereshteh, Sing, Justin Cyril, Maynard, Rajan Douglas et al. · Frontiers in immunology · 2024 · DOI
This study tracked one very severely ill ME/CFS patient over time, measuring immune system markers and detailed health information. Researchers found that the patient's immune system was shifted toward a Th2-type response (typically seen in allergies), with unusually high levels of certain immune chemicals. The study also introduced new smartphone apps to help patients and doctors track symptoms and treatment responses in real time.
This study provides detailed mechanistic insights into immune dysregulation in severe ME/CFS and identifies potential shared pathways with common comorbidities (POTS, mast cell activation, small fiber neuropathy), which could guide future therapeutic strategies. The introduction of patient-centered digital tracking tools addresses a critical need for better symptom monitoring and physician-patient communication in ME/CFS care.
As a single-patient case study, this research does not prove that Th2 cytokine skewing is the cause of ME/CFS or that it occurs uniformly across all patients; ME/CFS is heterogeneous and other patient subtypes may have different immune profiles. The study cannot establish causality between the identified immune markers and specific symptoms, only association. Findings require replication in larger, controlled patient populations before informing clinical practice guidelines.
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
Jahanbani, Fereshteh, Sing, Justin Cyril, Maynard, Rajan Douglas, Jahanbani, Shaghayegh, Dafoe, Janet, Dafoe, Whitney, et al. (2024). Longitudinal cytokine and multi-modal health data of an extremely severe ME/CFS patient with HSD reveals insights into immunopathology, and disease severity.. Frontiers in immunology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1369295
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jahanbani-2024-longitudinal-cytokine,
author = {Jahanbani, Fereshteh and Sing, Justin Cyril and Maynard, Rajan Douglas and Jahanbani, Shaghayegh and Dafoe, Janet and Dafoe, Whitney and Jones, Nathan and Wallace, Kelvin J and Rastan, Azuravesta and Maecker, Holden T and Röst, Hannes L and Snyder, Michael P and Davis, Ronald W},
title = {Longitudinal cytokine and multi-modal health data of an extremely severe ME/CFS patient with HSD reveals insights into immunopathology, and disease severity.},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2024.1369295},
note = {PubMed: 38650940},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jahanbani-2024-longitudinal-cytokine},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jahanbani-2024-longitudinal-cytokine
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