Raijmakers, Ruud, Roerink, Megan, Keijmel, Stephan et al. · Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 2022 · DOI
Researchers used a specialized brain scan to look for signs of inflammation in the brains of women with ME/CFS and Q fever fatigue syndrome, compared to healthy women. The scan didn't find evidence of the type of brain inflammation they were looking for, which contradicts some earlier research suggesting inflammation might play a role in these conditions.
This study directly tests a leading neurobiological hypothesis in ME/CFS—that brain inflammation drives symptoms. Understanding whether neuroinflammation is actually present helps researchers identify the true mechanisms of disease and could guide development of targeted treatments. The negative finding also suggests researchers should investigate other biological pathways.
This study does not prove that neuroinflammation is absent in all ME/CFS patients; the small sample size (n=9) limits generalizability, and it examined only women of specific ages without recent vaccination. The study also does not exclude other forms of inflammation or immune dysfunction outside the brain, nor does it rule out neuroinflammation in subgroups defined by disease onset or duration.
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
Raijmakers, Ruud, Roerink, Megan, Keijmel, Stephan, Joosten, Leo, Netea, Mihai, van der Meer, Jos, et al. (2022). No Signs of Neuroinflammation in Women With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Q Fever Fatigue Syndrome Using the TSPO Ligand [<sup>11</sup>C]-PK11195.. Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation. https://doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000001113
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-raijmakers-2022-signs-neuroinflammation,
author = {Raijmakers, Ruud and Roerink, Megan and Keijmel, Stephan and Joosten, Leo and Netea, Mihai and van der Meer, Jos and Knoop, Hans and Klein, Hans and Bleeker-Rovers, Chantal and Doorduin, Janine},
title = {No Signs of Neuroinflammation in Women With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Q Fever Fatigue Syndrome Using the TSPO Ligand [<sup>11</sup>C]-PK11195.},
journal = {Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1212/NXI.0000000000001113},
note = {PubMed: 34815320},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/raijmakers-2022-signs-neuroinflammation},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/raijmakers-2022-signs-neuroinflammation
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