Lynn, Megan, Maclachlan, Laura, Finkelmeyer, Andreas et al. · Mediators of inflammation · 2018 · DOI
This study looked at how the body's stress hormone system (glucocorticoid receptor) works in ME/CFS patients compared to healthy people. Researchers took blood samples and tested how well a stress hormone called dexamethasone could reduce inflammation markers. They found that ME/CFS patients had some differences in how their immune system responded, but the stress hormone system itself seemed to work similarly to healthy controls.
This study investigates a proposed mechanism (stress hormone dysregulation) that could explain some ME/CFS symptoms like immune dysfunction and fatigue. Understanding whether the glucocorticoid system is truly dysfunctional in ME/CFS versus other factors is important for developing targeted treatments and distinguishing ME/CFS from other conditions.
This study does not prove that glucocorticoid receptor dysregulation causes ME/CFS, nor does it establish that stress hormone abnormalities are a primary driver of the illness. The cross-sectional design cannot determine causality, and the confounding influence of childhood trauma and depression limits conclusions about the direct role of GR function in ME/CFS pathogenesis.
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
Lynn, Megan, Maclachlan, Laura, Finkelmeyer, Andreas, Clark, James, Locke, James, Todryk, Stephen, et al. (2018). Reduction of Glucocorticoid Receptor Function in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Mediators of inflammation. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3972104
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-lynn-2018-reduction-glucocorticoid,
author = {Lynn, Megan and Maclachlan, Laura and Finkelmeyer, Andreas and Clark, James and Locke, James and Todryk, Stephen and Ng, Wan-Fai and Newton, Julia L and Watson, Stuart},
title = {Reduction of Glucocorticoid Receptor Function in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Mediators of inflammation},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1155/2018/3972104},
note = {PubMed: 29983634},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lynn-2018-reduction-glucocorticoid},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lynn-2018-reduction-glucocorticoid
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.