Kreijkamp-Kaspers, Sanne, Brenu, Ekua Weba, Marshall, Sonya et al. · Australian family physician · 2011
This study looked at what medicines and supplements 94 people with ME/CFS were taking and checked what scientific evidence supported their use. The patients were using hundreds of different treatments, with antidepressants, pain relievers, sleep aids, and B vitamins being the most common. However, when researchers searched for rigorous studies proving these treatments work for ME/CFS, they found very limited evidence—only 20 good-quality trials existed for the medicines patients were using.
ME/CFS patients often try multiple medications seeking symptom relief, yet most treatments lack rigorous scientific validation specifically for this condition. This study quantifies the evidence gap and highlights the disconnect between what patients use and what is proven effective, helping both patients and doctors make more informed treatment decisions and identifying priorities for future research.
This study does not prove that the medications patients were taking are ineffective—only that they lack sufficient rigorous testing in ME/CFS populations. It does not establish whether treatments helped or harmed individual patients, as it is an overview of evidence rather than a clinical trial. The study also cannot determine why patients chose these medications or whether they experienced benefit from them.
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
Kreijkamp-Kaspers, Sanne, Brenu, Ekua Weba, Marshall, Sonya, Staines, Don, & Van Driel, Mieke L (2011). Treating chronic fatigue syndrome - a study into the scientific evidence for pharmacological treatments.. Australian family physician. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22059223/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kreijkamp-kaspers-2011-treating-chronic,
author = {Kreijkamp-Kaspers, Sanne and Brenu, Ekua Weba and Marshall, Sonya and Staines, Don and Van Driel, Mieke L},
title = {Treating chronic fatigue syndrome - a study into the scientific evidence for pharmacological treatments.},
journal = {Australian family physician},
year = {2011},
note = {PubMed: 22059223},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kreijkamp-kaspers-2011-treating-chronic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kreijkamp-kaspers-2011-treating-chronic
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