Sepúlveda, Nuno, Malato, João, Sotzny, Franziska et al. · Frontiers in medicine · 2022 · DOI
This study looked at antibody responses to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a common virus linked to ME/CFS onset in some patients. Researchers analyzed blood samples from 92 ME/CFS patients and 50 healthy people, testing reactions to over 3,000 EBV proteins. They found that in patients whose ME/CFS started after a suspected EBV infection, two specific viral proteins triggered stronger antibody responses than in healthy controls. These antibody patterns could correctly identify about 83% of infected patients and 72% of healthy people, suggesting they might become useful diagnostic markers.
ME/CFS lacks reliable diagnostic biomarkers, making diagnosis difficult and delaying patient care. If validated in future studies, these EBV antibody patterns could provide an objective test to confirm ME/CFS in patients whose illness began with an infection, helping distinguish ME/CFS from other conditions. This work also advances understanding of which EBV antigens are involved in ME/CFS pathogenesis.
This study does not prove that EBV causes ME/CFS or that these antibody responses are the mechanism of disease. The findings are specific to patients whose ME/CFS began with a suspected infection—they do not apply to all ME/CFS patients. The results require independent validation in a new patient population before clinical use, as this was a secondary analysis of previously published data.
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
Sepúlveda, Nuno, Malato, João, Sotzny, Franziska, Grabowska, Anna D, Fonseca, André, Cordeiro, Clara, et al. (2022). Revisiting IgG Antibody Reactivity to Epstein-Barr Virus in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Its Potential Application to Disease Diagnosis.. Frontiers in medicine. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.921101
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-seplveda-2022-revisiting-igg,
author = {Sepúlveda, Nuno and Malato, João and Sotzny, Franziska and Grabowska, Anna D and Fonseca, André and Cordeiro, Clara and Graça, Luís and Biecek, Przemyslaw and Behrends, Uta and Mautner, Josef and Westermeier, Francisco and Lacerda, Eliana M and Scheibenbogen, Carmen},
title = {Revisiting IgG Antibody Reactivity to Epstein-Barr Virus in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Its Potential Application to Disease Diagnosis.},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2022.921101},
note = {PubMed: 35814774},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/seplveda-2022-revisiting-igg},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/seplveda-2022-revisiting-igg
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