Lane, R J, Barrett, M C, Woodrow, D et al. · Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 1998 · DOI
Researchers examined muscle samples from 105 ME/CFS patients to understand why they have abnormal responses to exercise, particularly high lactate levels. They found that patients with high lactate responses had fewer type 1 muscle fibres (which are energy-efficient), but this wasn't because they were inactive—it appeared to be a specific muscle problem related to ME/CFS itself.
This study provides biological evidence that abnormal exercise lactate responses in ME/CFS may reflect intrinsic muscle fibre composition changes rather than simply inactivity, helping explain the exercise intolerance characteristic of the disease. Understanding the link between reduced type 1 fibres and abnormal lactate responses could lead to better biomarkers and targeted treatments.
This cross-sectional study cannot establish causation—it shows association between fibre type and lactate responses but does not prove the fibre abnormality causes the lactate problem. The study does not prove inactivity plays no role in ME/CFS, only that the observed muscle changes are not typical of deconditioning alone. Without longitudinal data or untreated controls, it cannot determine whether fibre changes precede symptom onset or result from the disease process.
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
Lane, R J, Barrett, M C, Woodrow, D, Moss, J, Fletcher, R, & Archard, L C (1998). Muscle fibre characteristics and lactate responses to exercise in chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.64.3.362
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-lane-1998-muscle-fibre,
author = {Lane, R J and Barrett, M C and Woodrow, D and Moss, J and Fletcher, R and Archard, L C},
title = {Muscle fibre characteristics and lactate responses to exercise in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1136/jnnp.64.3.362},
note = {PubMed: 9527150},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lane-1998-muscle-fibre},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lane-1998-muscle-fibre
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