Lupo, Giuseppe Francesco Damiano, Rocchetti, Gabriele, Lucini, Luigi et al. · Scientific reports · 2021 · DOI
This study looked at the bacteria living in the gut and mouth of people with ME/CFS compared to healthy people. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS have different types and amounts of bacteria in their intestines, including fewer beneficial bacteria and more of certain harmful ones. They also found differences in the chemical makeup of patients' stool samples. These differences suggest that gut bacteria imbalance may play a role in ME/CFS, though scientists don't yet know if this is a cause or a result of the illness.
ME/CFS patients lack clear biomarkers and effective treatments; identifying dysbiosis patterns offers potential diagnostic insight and suggests the microbiome as a therapeutic target. Understanding whether microbiota changes contribute to the energy metabolism dysfunction and immune abnormalities characteristic of ME/CFS could open new avenues for probiotic or dietary interventions.
This study demonstrates correlation between dysbiosis and ME/CFS but does not prove causation—the microbiota changes could be a consequence rather than a cause of the disease. The cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal relationships, and the authors cannot confirm whether these microbial signatures are specific to ME/CFS or related to its secondary symptoms versus primary pathology.
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
Lupo, Giuseppe Francesco Damiano, Rocchetti, Gabriele, Lucini, Luigi, Lorusso, Lorenzo, Manara, Elena, Bertelli, Matteo, et al. (2021). Potential role of microbiome in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelits (CFS/ME).. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86425-6
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-lupo-2021-potential-role,
author = {Lupo, Giuseppe Francesco Damiano and Rocchetti, Gabriele and Lucini, Luigi and Lorusso, Lorenzo and Manara, Elena and Bertelli, Matteo and Puglisi, Edoardo and Capelli, Enrica},
title = {Potential role of microbiome in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelits (CFS/ME).},
journal = {Scientific reports},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-021-86425-6},
note = {PubMed: 33782445},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lupo-2021-potential-role},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lupo-2021-potential-role
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