Miwa, Soichi, Takikawa, Osamu · Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine · 2007
This review examines how chemical messengers in the brain called neurotransmitters may be disrupted in ME/CFS. The researchers found that ME/CFS patients may have problems with serotonin and glutamate signaling, possibly triggered by viral infections or genetic differences. These imbalances could help explain why ME/CFS causes such persistent exhaustion.
This work is important because it provides a biological framework for understanding ME/CFS beyond just measuring fatigue symptoms. By identifying potential neurotransmitter mechanisms, the research opens pathways for developing targeted treatments and biomarkers that could validate ME/CFS as a physiological illness.
This review does not prove that neurotransmitter dysfunction causes ME/CFS or establish which mechanism is primary. It does not provide new experimental evidence demonstrating these mechanisms in ME/CFS patients, nor does it clarify the relative contribution of each proposed pathway (viral, genetic, metabolic, or autoimmune) to neurotransmitter abnormalities.
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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Primary citation
Miwa, Soichi & Takikawa, Osamu (2007). [Chronic fatigue syndrome and neurotransmitters].. Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17561689/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-miwa-2007-chronic-fatigue,
author = {Miwa, Soichi and Takikawa, Osamu},
title = {[Chronic fatigue syndrome and neurotransmitters].},
journal = {Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine},
year = {2007},
note = {PubMed: 17561689},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/miwa-2007-chronic-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/miwa-2007-chronic-fatigue
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