Kanchanatawan, Buranee, Sriswasdi, Sira, Maes, Michael · Metabolic brain disease · 2019 · DOI
This study looked at how chemical imbalances in the brain (called tryptophan breakdown products) and memory problems are connected to quality of life in people with schizophrenia. Researchers measured immune markers, cognitive function, and symptoms in 80 patients with schizophrenia and 40 healthy controls. They found that anxiety, fatigue-like symptoms, depression, and psychosis were the strongest predictors of lower quality of life, and these were linked to abnormal tryptophan metabolism and memory difficulties.
This research is relevant to ME/CFS because both conditions feature tryptophan metabolism abnormalities, immune dysregulation, cognitive impairment, and reduced quality of life. The study's mechanistic model—linking mucosal immune activation, metabolite production, cognitive deficits, and somatic symptoms—provides a framework that may apply to understanding ME/CFS pathophysiology. Understanding how neuro-immune biomarkers mediate symptom severity and functional outcomes could inform therapeutic strategies for both conditions.
This study does not prove that tryptophan metabolism abnormalities directly cause schizophrenia symptoms or quality of life impairment; it only shows statistical associations in a specific schizophrenia population. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or temporal sequence. The findings are specific to schizophrenia and should not be assumed to apply to ME/CFS without independent replication in ME/CFS cohorts.
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
Kanchanatawan, Buranee, Sriswasdi, Sira, & Maes, Michael (2019). Supervised machine learning to decipher the complex associations between neuro-immune biomarkers and quality of life in schizophrenia.. Metabolic brain disease. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-018-0339-7
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kanchanatawan-2019-supervised-machine,
author = {Kanchanatawan, Buranee and Sriswasdi, Sira and Maes, Michael},
title = {Supervised machine learning to decipher the complex associations between neuro-immune biomarkers and quality of life in schizophrenia.},
journal = {Metabolic brain disease},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1007/s11011-018-0339-7},
note = {PubMed: 30467771},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kanchanatawan-2019-supervised-machine},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kanchanatawan-2019-supervised-machine
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