Koca, Tuba Tülay, Göğebakan, Hasan, Nazik, Hülya et al. · Indian journal of dermatology · 2026 · DOI
This study looked at whether people with skin and joint conditions (psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis) experience unusual pain processing in their nervous system, similar to what happens in conditions like fibromyalgia. Researchers found that many patients with these conditions had signs of nervous system sensitization and neuropathic pain (nerve-related pain). The more active their disease was, the more likely they were to have these pain processing problems.
This research is relevant to ME/CFS patients because central sensitization and neuropathic pain overlap significantly with ME/CFS symptomatology (fatigue, pain, autonomic dysfunction). Understanding how nervous system hyperexcitability connects to chronic disease activity may inform treatment approaches for ME/CFS patients who experience similar pain amplification and autonomic features.
This study does not prove that central sensitization causes disease activity or vice versa—only that they are statistically associated. The high prevalence of CS in healthy controls (63.6%) raises questions about the specificity of these findings and suggests factors beyond disease pathology contribute to CS. The cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal relationships or determine whether interventions targeting CS would improve patient outcomes.
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
Koca, Tuba Tülay, Göğebakan, Hasan, Nazik, Hülya, Çetin, Gözde, & Öztürk, Perihan (2026). Clinical Importance of Central Sensitization and Neuropathic Pain in The Treatment and Follow-Up of Patients with Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis.. Indian journal of dermatology. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijd.ijd_319_23
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-koca-2026-clinical-importance,
author = {Koca, Tuba Tülay and Göğebakan, Hasan and Nazik, Hülya and Çetin, Gözde and Öztürk, Perihan},
title = {Clinical Importance of Central Sensitization and Neuropathic Pain in The Treatment and Follow-Up of Patients with Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis.},
journal = {Indian journal of dermatology},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.4103/ijd.ijd_319_23},
note = {PubMed: 41585820},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/koca-2026-clinical-importance},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/koca-2026-clinical-importance
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