Schwartz, R B, Komaroff, A L, Garada, B M et al. · AJR. American journal of roentgenology · 1994 · DOI
Researchers used a type of brain imaging called SPECT scans to compare brain blood flow patterns in people with ME/CFS, AIDS-related dementia, depression, and healthy people. People with ME/CFS and AIDS dementia showed similar patterns of reduced blood flow in certain brain areas, while people with depression showed different patterns. These findings suggest ME/CFS may involve brain inflammation similar to a chronic viral infection rather than being purely psychological.
This study provides objective neuroimaging evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable brain abnormalities distinct from depression, supporting the biological rather than purely psychiatric nature of the illness. The similarity between ME/CFS and AIDS dementia patterns lends credibility to the hypothesis that ME/CFS may involve chronic viral effects on the brain, potentially opening research directions into infectious mechanisms.
This study does not prove that a virus causes ME/CFS—it only shows similar imaging patterns to AIDS dementia and differs from depression. SPECT findings are correlational and cannot establish causation. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether brain abnormalities precede illness onset, develop as a consequence of chronic illness, or fluctuate with disease activity. A single imaging snapshot does not address whether these patterns are reversible or progressive.
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
Schwartz, R B, Komaroff, A L, Garada, B M, Gleit, M, Doolittle, T H, Bates, D W, et al. (1994). SPECT imaging of the brain: comparison of findings in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, AIDS dementia complex, and major unipolar depression.. AJR. American journal of roentgenology. https://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.162.4.8141022
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-schwartz-1994-spect-imaging,
author = {Schwartz, R B and Komaroff, A L and Garada, B M and Gleit, M and Doolittle, T H and Bates, D W and Vasile, R G and Holman, B L},
title = {SPECT imaging of the brain: comparison of findings in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, AIDS dementia complex, and major unipolar depression.},
journal = {AJR. American journal of roentgenology},
year = {1994},
doi = {10.2214/ajr.162.4.8141022},
note = {PubMed: 8141022},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/schwartz-1994-spect-imaging},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/schwartz-1994-spect-imaging
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