Rohrhofer, Johanna, Hauser, Lisa, Lettenmaier, Lisa et al. · Journal of clinical medicine · 2024 · DOI
This study found that ME/CFS patients have different types of immune system problems. Researchers divided patients into two groups: those with weakened immune systems and those with normal immune systems. The two groups showed different patterns of illness—one group had low levels of a protective immune protein, while the other group had signs that their gut barrier was leaking. This suggests that ME/CFS may not be one disease but rather multiple conditions that need different treatment approaches.
This research demonstrates that ME/CFS is not a single uniform disease but comprises at least two distinct biological subgroups with different immune and gut problems. Identifying these subgroups is crucial because different patients may need different treatments—a one-size-fits-all approach has likely failed because researchers and clinicians have been mixing together patients with fundamentally different underlying mechanisms.
This study does not establish causation—it only shows associations between immune status and biomarkers at one point in time. It cannot prove that intestinal barrier dysfunction or complement deficiency causes ME/CFS, only that these differences exist in subgroups of patients. The relatively small sample size limits the generalizability of findings to all ME/CFS patients worldwide.
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
Rohrhofer, Johanna, Hauser, Lisa, Lettenmaier, Lisa, Lutz, Lena, Koidl, Larissa, Gentile, Salvatore Alessio, et al. (2024). Immunological Patient Stratification in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Journal of clinical medicine. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13010275
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-rohrhofer-2024-immunological-patient,
author = {Rohrhofer, Johanna and Hauser, Lisa and Lettenmaier, Lisa and Lutz, Lena and Koidl, Larissa and Gentile, Salvatore Alessio and Ret, Davide and Stingl, Michael and Untersmayr, Eva},
title = {Immunological Patient Stratification in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of clinical medicine},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.3390/jcm13010275},
note = {PubMed: 38202282},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rohrhofer-2024-immunological-patient},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rohrhofer-2024-immunological-patient
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.