Maes, Michael · Modern trends in pharmacopsychiatry · 2013 · DOI
This study suggests that ME/CFS involves several overlapping biological problems: inflammation, oxidative stress (cellular damage), and activation of certain immune pathways. The researchers found that ME (characterized by post-exertional malaise) is more severe than CFS, and both conditions have higher levels of inflammatory markers than regular chronic fatigue. Understanding these biological mechanisms may help develop new targeted treatments.
This work validates that ME and CFS are distinct biological entities with measurable differences in inflammatory markers and severity, countering dismissive views of these conditions. Identifying specific pathways (inflammation, oxidative stress, immune signaling) provides a scientific foundation for developing mechanism-targeted treatments rather than symptomatic management alone.
As a narrative review, this study does not present new experimental or clinical trial data proving causation of ME/CFS symptoms. It describes associations between inflammatory markers and illness but does not establish which pathways are primary versus secondary, nor does it validate proposed drug candidates through clinical testing.
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 (2013). Inflammatory and oxidative and nitrosative stress cascades as new drug targets in myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.. Modern trends in pharmacopsychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1159/000343982
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-maes-2013-inflammatory-oxidative,
author = {Maes, Michael},
title = {Inflammatory and oxidative and nitrosative stress cascades as new drug targets in myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Modern trends in pharmacopsychiatry},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1159/000343982},
note = {PubMed: 25224898},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maes-2013-inflammatory-oxidative},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maes-2013-inflammatory-oxidative
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.