Jason, Leonard A, Zinn, Marcie L, Zinn, Mark A · Current neuropharmacology · 2015 · DOI
This review article examines what we know about ME/CFS symptoms and biological markers that could help diagnose the disease. The authors point out that ME/CFS is often confused with other conditions like early multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease because they share similar symptoms. They call for better standardized ways to diagnose ME/CFS and more large-scale studies to understand what's happening in the body during this illness.
This systematic review is important because it clarifies why ME/CFS diagnosis remains challenging and identifies practical areas where better biomarkers and standardized diagnostic approaches could improve patient outcomes. For researchers, it highlights critical gaps in the evidence base and provides a roadmap for future investigation that could lead to faster, more accurate diagnoses and prevent misdiagnosis as other neurological conditions.
This review does not establish any new biomarkers or provide definitive diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS—it synthesizes existing literature and identifies gaps rather than presenting original research data. It does not prove causation for any proposed biological mechanisms, only documents the state of current understanding and areas needing further investigation.
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 →
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