McGregor, N R, Dunstan, R H, Zerbes, M et al. · Biochemical and molecular medicine · 1996 · DOI
Researchers tested the urine of 20 ME/CFS patients and 45 healthy controls to look for chemical differences. They found that ME/CFS patients had different levels of several substances in their urine, particularly one called CFSUM1 and beta-alanine, which were higher in patients with more severe symptoms. These findings suggest ME/CFS may have measurable biological markers that could help identify the condition.
This study provides early evidence that ME/CFS may have detectable biological markers in urine, which could eventually support objective diagnosis of a condition currently diagnosed only by symptom criteria. Identifying biomarkers is crucial for validating ME/CFS as an organic disease, improving diagnostic accuracy, and potentially guiding future treatment development.
This study does not prove that CFSUM1 or beta-alanine cause ME/CFS or that these metabolites are specific to the condition—they may also appear in other illnesses. The cross-sectional design cannot establish whether the metabolite changes precede symptom onset or result from the disease process. The findings require replication in larger, independent cohorts before clinical use.
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
McGregor, N R, Dunstan, R H, Zerbes, M, Butt, H L, Roberts, T K, & Klineberg, I J (1996). Preliminary determination of a molecular basis of chronic fatigue syndrome.. Biochemical and molecular medicine. https://doi.org/10.1006/bmme.1996.0012
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-mcgregor-1996-preliminary-determination,
author = {McGregor, N R and Dunstan, R H and Zerbes, M and Butt, H L and Roberts, T K and Klineberg, I J},
title = {Preliminary determination of a molecular basis of chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Biochemical and molecular medicine},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.1006/bmme.1996.0012},
note = {PubMed: 8733884},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mcgregor-1996-preliminary-determination},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mcgregor-1996-preliminary-determination
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