Rees, Roger J, Bellon, Michelle L · NeuroRehabilitation · 2007
This study followed 20 adults who had lasting symptoms after a head injury (concussion) for an average of 3.35 years. Participants experienced fatigue, difficulty concentrating, mood changes, and sensitivity to noise. When they received counseling and therapy over two years, some symptoms like irritability improved, but many people still felt fundamentally changed and struggled with feelings of helplessness.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS patients because it documents the long-term, treatment-resistant nature of post-concussion syndrome and identifies overlaps with CFS and PTSD—helping explain why some patients experience persistent, multi-system symptoms despite standard interventions. Understanding how traumatic brain injury can produce CFS-like presentations informs differential diagnosis and may guide treatment approaches for both conditions.
This study does not prove that post-concussion syndrome causes ME/CFS or vice versa; it only notes similarity in symptom profiles. The lack of a control group and small sample size prevent firm conclusions about the effectiveness of counseling and psychotherapy. The study does not establish causality between trauma and the persistent symptom pattern, nor does it identify biological mechanisms underlying PCS.
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
Rees, Roger J & Bellon, Michelle L (2007). Post concussion syndrome ebb and flow: longitudinal effects and management.. NeuroRehabilitation. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17917173/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-rees-2007-post-concussion,
author = {Rees, Roger J and Bellon, Michelle L},
title = {Post concussion syndrome ebb and flow: longitudinal effects and management.},
journal = {NeuroRehabilitation},
year = {2007},
note = {PubMed: 17917173},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rees-2007-post-concussion},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rees-2007-post-concussion
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