Lande, Asgeir, Fluge, Øystein, Strand, Elin B et al. · Scientific reports · 2020 · DOI
Researchers studied immune system markers called HLA alleles in 426 Norwegian ME/CFS patients and compared them to healthy controls. They found that two specific immune markers (HLA-C*07:04 and HLA-DQB1*03:03) were more common in ME/CFS patients than in healthy people, suggesting the immune system may play a role in developing ME/CFS. About 1 in 5 ME/CFS patients carried one or both of these markers, compared to 1 in 8 healthy people.
These findings provide the first strong evidence that HLA alleles are associated with ME/CFS susceptibility, supporting the hypothesis that immune dysregulation contributes to disease pathogenesis. This opens avenues for understanding ME/CFS heterogeneity and may eventually inform patient stratification, genetic screening, or immunologically-targeted interventions.
This study does not prove that these HLA alleles cause ME/CFS—correlation does not equal causation. The genetic associations do not explain why most people with these alleles do not develop ME/CFS, nor do they identify the specific immune mechanisms involved. Results are limited to Norwegian populations and may not apply to other ancestries.
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 →
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