Levine, P H · Biotherapy (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 1996 · DOI
ME/CFS often starts with a viral infection and some people have ongoing herpes virus activity. This article discusses transfer factors—a type of immune therapy—that might help fight these viruses and improve symptoms. The authors explain why we need better-designed studies to test if this treatment actually works.
This editorial highlights the potential role of persistent viral infections in ME/CFS and proposes a biological rationale for immunotherapy. It also identifies critical gaps in trial design that have hampered understanding of treatment efficacy, providing a framework for future research.
This is an editorial commentary, not a clinical trial, so it presents no direct evidence that transfer factors are effective for ME/CFS. The article does not establish causation between herpes viruses and symptom perpetuation, only that associations exist. It does not settle whether transfer factors should be used in clinical practice.
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
Levine, P H (1996). The use of transfer factors in chronic fatigue syndrome: prospects and problems.. Biotherapy (Dordrecht, Netherlands). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02628661
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-levine-1996-use-transfer,
author = {Levine, P H},
title = {The use of transfer factors in chronic fatigue syndrome: prospects and problems.},
journal = {Biotherapy (Dordrecht, Netherlands)},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.1007/BF02628661},
note = {PubMed: 8993762},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/levine-1996-use-transfer},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/levine-1996-use-transfer
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