Jason, Leonard A, Unger, Elizabeth R, Dimitrakoff, Jordan D et al. · Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2012 · DOI
Researchers noticed that different ME/CFS studies were collecting and reporting information in very different ways, making it hard to compare results across laboratories. This paper outlines the essential information that all ME/CFS research studies should include—like how patients were selected, what their characteristics are, and how they were tested—so that future studies can be compared fairly and findings can be better understood.
Standardized reporting enables researchers to accurately compare findings across studies and identify patterns that might lead to better understanding of ME/CFS subtypes and mechanisms. For patients, improved research consistency means faster translation of findings into clinical insights and more reliable evidence to guide treatment decisions.
This paper does not establish new facts about ME/CFS biology, causes, or treatments. It is a methods paper focused on improving how future research is reported and compared—it does not itself generate or test clinical data.
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
Jason, Leonard A, Unger, Elizabeth R, Dimitrakoff, Jordan D, Fagin, Adam P, Houghton, Michael, Cook, Dane B, et al. (2012). Minimum data elements for research reports on CFS.. Brain, behavior, and immunity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2012.01.014
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jason-2012-minimum-data,
author = {Jason, Leonard A and Unger, Elizabeth R and Dimitrakoff, Jordan D and Fagin, Adam P and Houghton, Michael and Cook, Dane B and Marshall, Gailen D and Klimas, Nancy and Snell, Christopher},
title = {Minimum data elements for research reports on CFS.},
journal = {Brain, behavior, and immunity},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1016/j.bbi.2012.01.014},
note = {PubMed: 22306456},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jason-2012-minimum-data},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jason-2012-minimum-data
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