Lange, G, Holodny, A I, DeLuca, J et al. · Applied neuropsychology · 2001 · DOI
This study looked at brain scans from people with ME/CFS to measure the size of fluid-filled spaces (ventricles) in their brains. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS had slightly larger ventricles compared to healthy controls, suggesting there may be subtle physical changes in the brains of some ME/CFS patients. While this difference was close to being statistically significant, it provides another piece of evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable brain changes.
This study provides objective neuroimaging evidence that ME/CFS involves detectable physical changes in brain structure, supporting the biological nature of the disease. Demonstrating quantifiable brain abnormalities helps validate ME/CFS as an organic condition and may guide future research into the mechanisms underlying cognitive and neurological symptoms.
This study does not prove that ventricular enlargement causes ME/CFS symptoms or explain what mechanism produces this change. The findings are correlational and do not establish whether ventricular changes are a primary feature of the disease, a secondary effect, or how they relate to specific symptoms. The small sample and pilot design limit generalizability.
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, Holodny, A I, DeLuca, J, Lee, H J, Yan, X H, Steffener, J, et al. (2001). Quantitative assessment of cerebral ventricular volumes in chronic fatigue syndrome.. Applied neuropsychology. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324826AN0801_4
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-lange-2001-quantitative-assessment,
author = {Lange, G and Holodny, A I and DeLuca, J and Lee, H J and Yan, X H and Steffener, J and Natelson, B H},
title = {Quantitative assessment of cerebral ventricular volumes in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Applied neuropsychology},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.1207/S15324826AN0801_4},
note = {PubMed: 11388120},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lange-2001-quantitative-assessment},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lange-2001-quantitative-assessment
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