Ortega-Hernandez, Oscar-Danilo, Cuccia, Mariaclara, Bozzini, Sara et al. · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2009 · DOI
This study looked at whether certain genetic traits and immune markers in the blood are linked to when ME/CFS develops and what symptoms people experience. Researchers tested 81 ME/CFS patients for specific genes related to serotonin (a brain chemical), immune system genes, and antibodies. They found that different genetic patterns were associated with developing ME/CFS at different ages and with certain symptoms like joint pain and fever, but not muscle pain.
This study suggests that ME/CFS is genetically heterogeneous, similar to other autoimmune diseases, meaning different people may develop the illness through different biological mechanisms. Understanding these genetic associations could eventually help predict disease onset timing and symptom profiles, potentially improving early detection and personalized treatment approaches.
This study does not prove that these genetic variants cause ME/CFS—it only shows associations observed at one point in time. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or temporal relationships, and the relatively small sample size means these associations need validation in larger, prospective studies before clinical application. Autoantibody findings were negative, so the role of antibodies in ME/CFS remains unclear.
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
Ortega-Hernandez, Oscar-Danilo, Cuccia, Mariaclara, Bozzini, Sara, Bassi, Nicola, Moscavitch, Samuel, Diaz-Gallo, Lina-Marcela, et al. (2009). Autoantibodies, polymorphisms in the serotonin pathway, and human leukocyte antigen class II alleles in chronic fatigue syndrome: are they associated with age at onset and specific symptoms?. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04802.x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ortega-hernandez-2009-autoantibodies-polymorphisms,
author = {Ortega-Hernandez, Oscar-Danilo and Cuccia, Mariaclara and Bozzini, Sara and Bassi, Nicola and Moscavitch, Samuel and Diaz-Gallo, Lina-Marcela and Blank, Miri and Agmon-Levin, Nancy and Shoenfeld, Yehuda},
title = {Autoantibodies, polymorphisms in the serotonin pathway, and human leukocyte antigen class II alleles in chronic fatigue syndrome: are they associated with age at onset and specific symptoms?},
journal = {Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04802.x},
note = {PubMed: 19758204},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ortega-hernandez-2009-autoantibodies-polymorphisms},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ortega-hernandez-2009-autoantibodies-polymorphisms
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.