Kumar, Anil, Garg, Ruchika, Gaur, Vaibhav et al. · Indian journal of pharmacology · 2011 · DOI
This study used mice exposed to repeated stress (forced swimming) to create a model similar to ME/CFS, then tested whether two common antidepressants could help. The researchers found that these antidepressants reduced fatigue-like behavior and signs of cellular damage in the brain, possibly by affecting a molecule called nitric oxide. The findings suggest antidepressants might work partly through protecting the brain from oxidative stress.
Understanding how antidepressants might protect against ME/CFS-related symptoms through specific molecular pathways could help researchers develop better treatments and identify which patients might benefit most. If nitric oxide modulation is confirmed as a key mechanism in humans, it could open new therapeutic targets beyond traditional antidepressant use.
This study does not prove that antidepressants effectively treat ME/CFS in humans or that nitric oxide mechanisms found in mice directly apply to human disease. The forced swimming model creates acute stress effects, not the complex, multifactorial pathophysiology of actual ME/CFS. Results show correlation between NO modulation and symptom improvement in animals, not causation in human disease.
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
Kumar, Anil, Garg, Ruchika, Gaur, Vaibhav, & Kumar, Puneet (2011). Nitric oxide modulation in protective role of antidepressants against chronic fatigue syndrome in mice.. Indian journal of pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.4103/0253-7613.81506
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kumar-2011-nitric-oxide,
author = {Kumar, Anil and Garg, Ruchika and Gaur, Vaibhav and Kumar, Puneet},
title = {Nitric oxide modulation in protective role of antidepressants against chronic fatigue syndrome in mice.},
journal = {Indian journal of pharmacology},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.4103/0253-7613.81506},
note = {PubMed: 21713041},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kumar-2011-nitric-oxide},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kumar-2011-nitric-oxide
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