Jurek, Joanna Michalina, Castro-Marrero, Jesus · Nutrients · 2024 · DOI
This review examines how changes in gut bacteria may contribute to ME/CFS and long COVID symptoms, and whether taking probiotics or similar microbial preparations might help. The authors looked at existing research to understand the connection between gut health and the brain-immune system, and whether restoring healthy gut bacteria could reduce fatigue, inflammation, and other symptoms in these conditions.
This review is important because it consolidates emerging evidence linking gut dysbiosis to ME/CFS pathophysiology and explores whether accessible microbial interventions could address multiple symptoms simultaneously. For patients and clinicians, it provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how gut-brain-immune interactions may drive disease and suggests potential management strategies that warrant further investigation.
This narrative review does not establish causation between gut dysbiosis and ME/CFS symptoms—associations may be bidirectional or reflect secondary effects of illness. The review does not provide definitive clinical evidence that probiotics or related preparations effectively treat ME/CFS or long COVID; it identifies promising avenues requiring rigorous randomized controlled trials. Individual probiotic efficacy varies, and this review cannot determine which specific preparations or combinations are most beneficial.
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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Primary citation
Jurek, Joanna Michalina & Castro-Marrero, Jesus (2024). A Narrative Review on Gut Microbiome Disturbances and Microbial Preparations in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Implications for Long COVID.. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16111545
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jurek-2024-narrative-review,
author = {Jurek, Joanna Michalina and Castro-Marrero, Jesus},
title = {A Narrative Review on Gut Microbiome Disturbances and Microbial Preparations in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Implications for Long COVID.},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.3390/nu16111545},
note = {PubMed: 38892479},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jurek-2024-narrative-review},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jurek-2024-narrative-review
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