Yasuhito Nakatomi, Kei Mizuno, Akira Ishii et al. · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · 2014 · DOI
Japanese researchers used PET imaging with a neuroinflammation tracer (PK11195) in 9 ME/CFS patients and healthy controls. They found significantly elevated neuroinflammation signals across multiple brain regions in ME/CFS patients, particularly in the cingulate cortex, thalamus, and brainstem — areas regulating fatigue and cognition.
This study independently corroborated neuroinflammation findings from other groups using direct PET imaging. It identified specific brain regions showing elevated glial activation in ME/CFS, providing anatomical detail to the neuroinflammation hypothesis.
With only 9 ME/CFS patients, this is an underpowered study. The PK11195 tracer has relatively low specificity for microglia vs. macrophages. Replication with larger samples and newer tracers is needed.
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
Yasuhito Nakatomi, Kei Mizuno, Akira Ishii, Yosky Wada, Masaaki Tanaka, Shusaku Tazawa, et al. (2014). Neuroinflammation in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2014.04.001
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-nakatomi-2014-neuroinflammation-japan,
author = {Yasuhito Nakatomi and Kei Mizuno and Akira Ishii and Yosky Wada and Masaaki Tanaka and Shusaku Tazawa and Kikuko Onoe and Sanae Fukuda and Joji Kawabe and Kazuhiro Takahashi and Yutaka Kataoka and Setsuji Shiomi and Yasuyoshi Kuratsune and Akira Yamaguti and Hirohiko Kuratsune},
title = {Neuroinflammation in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis},
journal = {Brain, Behavior, and Immunity},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1016/j.bbi.2014.04.001},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nakatomi-2014-neuroinflammation-japan},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nakatomi-2014-neuroinflammation-japan
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