Kaushik, N, Fear, D, Richards, S C M et al. · Journal of clinical pathology · 2005 · DOI
Researchers compared blood cells from 25 ME/CFS patients with 25 healthy people to see if genes were turned on or off differently. They found 16 genes with different activity levels in ME/CFS patients—most were overactive. These changes suggest problems with immune cell activation, nerve function, and how cells produce energy, which could help explain why ME/CFS causes fatigue and other symptoms.
This study provides molecular evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable, reproducible changes in immune and cellular function, moving beyond purely subjective symptom reporting. Identifying specific dysregulated genes offers potential biomarkers and targets for future diagnostic tests and therapeutic interventions.
This study does not prove these gene expression changes cause ME/CFS—they may be consequences of the disease or occur alongside it. It does not establish whether these changes are unique to ME/CFS or present in other conditions, nor does it demonstrate that correcting these gene expression patterns would improve symptoms. The small sample size and single timepoint limit generalizability.
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
Kaushik, N, Fear, D, Richards, S C M, McDermott, C R, Nuwaysir, E F, Kellam, P, et al. (2005). Gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of clinical pathology. https://doi.org/10.1136/jcp.2005.025718
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kaushik-2005-gene-expression,
author = {Kaushik, N and Fear, D and Richards, S C M and McDermott, C R and Nuwaysir, E F and Kellam, P and Harrison, T J and Wilkinson, R J and Tyrrell, D A J and Holgate, S T and Kerr, J R},
title = {Gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of clinical pathology},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1136/jcp.2005.025718},
note = {PubMed: 16049284},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kaushik-2005-gene-expression},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kaushik-2005-gene-expression
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