Peng, Min, Ma, Hong-bo, Si, Guo-min · Zhongguo Zhong xi yi jie he za zhi Zhongguo Zhongxiyi jiehe zazhi = Chinese journal of integrated traditional and Western medicine · 2014
This study reviewed 20 years of Chinese medicine research on ME/CFS to identify common patterns doctors observe in patients. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients typically show patterns the Chinese medicine tradition calls 'deficiency syndromes'—meaning the body's energy (qi) and vital resources are depleted—sometimes mixed with blockages or stagnation. The most common patterns involved the spleen, liver, kidneys, and heart systems.
Understanding how different medical traditions classify ME/CFS symptoms can help integrate diverse treatment approaches and identify common underlying mechanisms. This systematic approach to Chinese medicine syndrome patterns may reveal which patient subgroups might benefit from specific therapies, potentially improving personalized treatment strategies for ME/CFS.
This literature review does not establish causal mechanisms, provide clinical trial evidence that Chinese medicine treatments are effective for ME/CFS, or validate whether these traditional syndrome patterns correspond to measurable biological markers. The study also cannot demonstrate superiority of Chinese medicine approaches compared to conventional biomedical treatments, as it only analyzes classification patterns from existing literature.
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
Peng, Min, Ma, Hong-bo, & Si, Guo-min (2014). [A literature review on Chinese medicine syndrome and syndrome elements of chronic fatigue syndrome].. Zhongguo Zhong xi yi jie he za zhi Zhongguo Zhongxiyi jiehe zazhi = Chinese journal of integrated traditional and Western medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25046951/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-peng-2014-literature-review,
author = {Peng, Min and Ma, Hong-bo and Si, Guo-min},
title = {[A literature review on Chinese medicine syndrome and syndrome elements of chronic fatigue syndrome].},
journal = {Zhongguo Zhong xi yi jie he za zhi Zhongguo Zhongxiyi jiehe zazhi = Chinese journal of integrated traditional and Western medicine},
year = {2014},
note = {PubMed: 25046951},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/peng-2014-literature-review},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/peng-2014-literature-review
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