Maksoud, Rebekah, du Preez, Stanley, Eaton-Fitch, Natalie et al. · PloS one · 2020 · DOI
This review examined 55 studies that used brain imaging techniques to look for physical differences in the brains of people with ME/CFS compared to healthy people. The researchers found evidence that ME/CFS affects how the nervous system works, including changes in brain structure and blood flow. However, the findings weren't consistent across all studies, meaning scientists still don't have a complete picture of what's happening in the brain.
This is the first comprehensive systematic review consolidating neuroimaging evidence for ME/CFS, providing an important bridge between patient symptoms and measurable brain changes. Establishing objective neurological biomarkers through neuroimaging could validate ME/CFS as a biological illness and guide future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
This review does not prove that observed brain changes cause ME/CFS symptoms, as most studies are correlational rather than causal. The inconsistency of findings across studies means no single neurological marker has been established as a definitive diagnostic feature of ME/CFS. The review also cannot explain why neuroimaging changes occur or whether they are primary pathological processes or secondary responses to illness.
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 →
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