Lange, G, Wang, S, DeLuca, J et al. · The American journal of medicine · 1998 · DOI
This review examines how brain imaging scans can help understand ME/CFS. Researchers looked at two main types of scans: MRI scans that show the structure of the brain, and SPECT scans that show blood flow in the brain. The article discusses what these imaging techniques have revealed so far and what challenges doctors face in using them to diagnose ME/CFS.
This review is important because ME/CFS patients often struggle to get diagnosed due to lack of objective tests, and brain imaging could potentially provide evidence of physical abnormalities. Understanding what neuroimaging can and cannot tell us helps both patients and doctors have realistic expectations about these tools and may guide future research toward more reliable diagnostic approaches.
This review does not prove that any single neuroimaging finding can definitively diagnose ME/CFS, nor does it establish that observed brain imaging abnormalities are unique to this condition. The review also does not determine whether any imaging findings are causes of ME/CFS symptoms or merely correlates, and notes that depression and other conditions can produce similar imaging patterns, complicating interpretation.
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
Lange, G, Wang, S, DeLuca, J, & Natelson, B H (1998). Neuroimaging in chronic fatigue syndrome.. The American journal of medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9343(98)00175-2
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-lange-1998-neuroimaging-chronic,
author = {Lange, G and Wang, S and DeLuca, J and Natelson, B H},
title = {Neuroimaging in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {The American journal of medicine},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1016/s0002-9343(98)00175-2},
note = {PubMed: 9790482},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lange-1998-neuroimaging-chronic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lange-1998-neuroimaging-chronic
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