Sharpe, M, Clements, A, Hawton, K et al. · Journal of affective disorders · 1996 · DOI
Researchers gave a medication called buspirone to people with ME/CFS and healthy volunteers to see how their bodies would respond. People with ME/CFS had higher levels of a hormone called prolactin and experienced more nausea than the healthy group. This suggests that the brains of people with ME/CFS may process certain chemicals differently, particularly those involved in mood and nerve signaling.
This study provides biological evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable differences in neuroendocrine function, specifically in how the brain's serotonin and dopamine systems respond to stimulation. Understanding these abnormalities could help explain some ME/CFS symptoms and guide development of targeted treatments.
This study does not prove that altered prolactin response causes ME/CFS symptoms or is a primary driver of the illness. It demonstrates an association in a small group of men only and does not establish whether this response is specific to ME/CFS or occurs in other conditions. The findings do not clarify whether dopamine dysfunction is the underlying cause or a secondary consequence of ME/CFS.
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 →
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