Nepotchatykh, Evguenia, Elremaly, Wesam, Caraus, Iurie et al. · Scientific reports · 2020 · DOI
This study looked at tiny molecules called microRNAs in the blood of severely ill ME/CFS patients before and after a stress challenge designed to trigger post-exertional malaise (the worsening of symptoms after activity). The researchers found that eleven different microRNAs changed in response to this challenge, with patterns that varied depending on symptom severity. These microRNA signatures could potentially be used one day as blood tests to help diagnose ME/CFS.
ME/CFS currently lacks objective diagnostic biomarkers, making it difficult to confirm diagnosis and understand disease mechanisms. Identifying microRNA signatures that change during PEM provides potential biological markers that could improve diagnosis and may reveal clues about what goes wrong in ME/CFS at the molecular level. This could eventually lead to better detection methods and targeted treatments.
This study does not prove that these microRNA changes cause ME/CFS symptoms—only that they are associated with the disease and PEM response. The results come from severely ill patients in a laboratory setting, so the microRNA patterns may not represent all ME/CFS patients or explain the underlying mechanisms. The study also does not establish whether measuring these microRNAs alone would be reliable enough for clinical diagnosis without further validation.
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
Nepotchatykh, Evguenia, Elremaly, Wesam, Caraus, Iurie, Godbout, Christian, Leveau, Corinne, Chalder, Lynda, et al. (2020). Profile of circulating microRNAs in myalgic encephalomyelitis and their relation to symptom severity, and disease pathophysiology.. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-76438-y
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-nepotchatykh-2020-profile-circulating,
author = {Nepotchatykh, Evguenia and Elremaly, Wesam and Caraus, Iurie and Godbout, Christian and Leveau, Corinne and Chalder, Lynda and Beaudin, Catherine and Kanamaru, Emi and Kosovskaia, Renata and Lauzon, Shawn and Maillet, Yanick and Franco, Anita and Lascau-Coman, Viorica and Bouhanik, Saadallah and Gaitan, Yaned Patricia and Li, Dawei and Moreau, Alain},
title = {Profile of circulating microRNAs in myalgic encephalomyelitis and their relation to symptom severity, and disease pathophysiology.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-020-76438-y},
note = {PubMed: 33184353},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nepotchatykh-2020-profile-circulating},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nepotchatykh-2020-profile-circulating
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