See, D M, Cimoch, P, Chou, S et al. · Integrative physiological and behavioral science : the official journal of the Pavlovian Society · 1998 · DOI
This study tested whether a supplement containing eight specific sugars (called glyconutrients) could help fix immune system problems in ME/CFS patients. Researchers added the supplement to immune cells from ME/CFS patients and healthy controls in a laboratory dish and measured whether it improved immune function. The supplement appeared to increase the activity of several types of immune cells and reduce cell death in ME/CFS patients' immune cells.
This study contributes to understanding whether glyconutrient supplementation could address documented immune abnormalities in ME/CFS, including reduced NK cell function and altered immune cell surface markers. If validated in clinical trials, this approach could offer a relatively accessible intervention targeting immune dysregulation in ME/CFS.
This laboratory study does not prove that glyconutrients improve ME/CFS symptoms in actual patients—only that they affect immune cells in a test tube. It does not establish whether oral supplementation delivers these compounds to cells effectively, whether the improvement persists long-term, or whether immune changes would translate to clinical benefit. Correlation between in vitro immune changes and patient outcomes cannot be inferred from this mechanistic work.
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
See, D M, Cimoch, P, Chou, S, Chang, J, & Tilles, J (1998). The in vitro immunomodulatory effects of glyconutrients on peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Integrative physiological and behavioral science : the official journal of the Pavlovian Society. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02688668
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-see-1998-vitro-immunomodulatory,
author = {See, D M and Cimoch, P and Chou, S and Chang, J and Tilles, J},
title = {The in vitro immunomodulatory effects of glyconutrients on peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Integrative physiological and behavioral science : the official journal of the Pavlovian Society},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1007/BF02688668},
note = {PubMed: 9829439},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/see-1998-vitro-immunomodulatory},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/see-1998-vitro-immunomodulatory
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