Robert K. Naviaux, Jane C. Naviaux, Kefeng Li et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) · 2016 · DOI
This study analyzed blood metabolites from 84 ME/CFS patients and 45 healthy controls using untargeted metabolomics. Researchers found 80% of the abnormal metabolites were decreased in ME/CFS patients, suggesting a hypometabolic state — the body running in energy conservation mode. The pattern resembled a 'dauer-like' state seen in organisms under stress.
This was one of the first large-scale metabolomics studies in ME/CFS to find consistent, systemic changes across multiple biochemical pathways. It provided objective biological evidence of metabolic dysfunction and challenged psychological explanations of the illness.
This study cannot establish whether metabolic changes are a cause or consequence of ME/CFS. The hypometabolic state could be secondary to inactivity, disrupted sleep, or other features of 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 →
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
Robert K. Naviaux, Jane C. Naviaux, Kefeng Li, A. Taylor Bright, William A. Alaynick, Lin Wang, et al. (2016). Metabolic features of chronic fatigue syndrome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607571113
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-naviaux-2016-metabolomics,
author = {Robert K. Naviaux and Jane C. Naviaux and Kefeng Li and A. Taylor Bright and William A. Alaynick and Lin Wang and Asha Baxter and Neil Nathan and Wayne Anderson and Eric Gordon},
title = {Metabolic features of chronic fatigue syndrome},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1607571113},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/naviaux-2016-metabolomics},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/naviaux-2016-metabolomics
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