Newman, Michael E., Shapira, Baruch, Lerer, Bernard · The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 1998 · DOI
This review examines a test called the fenfluramine challenge test, which measures how well the brain's serotonin system is working by looking at prolactin levels after taking fenfluramine. The researchers found that people with depression typically had a blunted (reduced) prolactin response, and that some people with chronic fatigue syndrome might have had an enhanced response, though not many studies existed in this group.
This review is relevant to ME/CFS research because it identifies preliminary evidence that people with chronic fatigue syndrome may show altered serotonergic function (enhanced prolactin responses) compared to healthy controls and depressed patients. Understanding whether ME/CFS involves serotonin system dysfunction could help researchers develop targeted treatments and distinguish ME/CFS from depression, which share overlapping symptoms.
This review does not establish that serotonin dysfunction causes ME/CFS—it only describes associations in a small number of studies. The limited data in ME/CFS patients means conclusions about this population remain preliminary and speculative. Additionally, because fenfluramine is no longer available clinically, these findings cannot be directly confirmed with new research using the same method.
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
Newman, Michael E., Shapira, Baruch, & Lerer, Bernard (1998). Evaluation of central serotonergic function in affective and related disorders by the fenfluramine challenge test: a critical review.. The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1461145798001072
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-newman-1998-evaluation-central,
author = {Newman, Michael E. and Shapira, Baruch and Lerer, Bernard},
title = {Evaluation of central serotonergic function in affective and related disorders by the fenfluramine challenge test: a critical review.},
journal = {The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1017/S1461145798001072},
note = {PubMed: 11281946},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/newman-1998-evaluation-central},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/newman-1998-evaluation-central
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