Maes, Michael, Mihaylova, Ivanka, Kubera, Marta et al. · Neuro endocrinology letters · 2011
This study looked at a protective enzyme called GPX that helps defend cells from damage in people with depression and ME/CFS. The researchers found that people with depression had lower levels of this enzyme compared to healthy people, but people with ME/CFS had normal levels. Both groups showed connections between low enzyme levels and symptoms like mood problems and autonomic nervous system dysfunction.
This research helps clarify different biological mechanisms underlying depression versus ME/CFS, two conditions that share overlapping symptoms but may involve distinct biochemical pathways. Understanding these differences could lead to more targeted treatments for each condition and may explain why some interventions work differently in depression versus ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that low GPX causes depression or neuroprogression—only that an association exists. It also does not establish whether supplementing GPX-boosting substances would be effective in treating either condition, despite the authors' suggestions. The cross-sectional design means causality cannot be determined, and findings in whole blood may not reflect GPX activity in brain tissue where it matters clinically.
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
Maes, Michael, Mihaylova, Ivanka, Kubera, Marta, Uytterhoeven, Marc, Vrydags, Nicolas, & Bosmans, Eugene (2011). Lower whole blood glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity in depression, but not in myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome: another pathway that may be associated with coronary artery disease and neuroprogression in depression.. Neuro endocrinology letters. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21552194/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-maes-2011-lower-whole,
author = {Maes, Michael and Mihaylova, Ivanka and Kubera, Marta and Uytterhoeven, Marc and Vrydags, Nicolas and Bosmans, Eugene},
title = {Lower whole blood glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity in depression, but not in myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome: another pathway that may be associated with coronary artery disease and neuroprogression in depression.},
journal = {Neuro endocrinology letters},
year = {2011},
note = {PubMed: 21552194},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maes-2011-lower-whole},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maes-2011-lower-whole
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