Shungu, Dikoma C, Weiduschat, Nora, Murrough, James W et al. · NMR in biomedicine · 2012 · DOI
This study used specialized brain imaging to look for differences in how the brains of people with ME/CFS work compared to healthy people and those with depression or anxiety. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS had higher levels of lactate (a chemical produced when cells don't get enough oxygen) in their brain fluid and lower levels of a natural antioxidant that protects cells from damage. These findings suggest that oxidative stress—damage from harmful molecules—may be an important part of what causes ME/CFS.
This study provides objective neurobiological evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable abnormalities in brain chemistry and blood flow, supporting a biological rather than purely psychiatric basis for the disease. The findings of oxidative stress markers correlating with clinical symptoms offer potential targets for future therapeutic interventions and help validate ME/CFS as a distinct medical condition.
This study does not prove that oxidative stress causes ME/CFS—it only shows association and correlation. The cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal relationships or determine whether the observed brain changes are primary causes or secondary consequences of the illness. Additionally, group sample sizes were small (n=15), which limits statistical power and generalizability to the broader ME/CFS population.
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
Shungu, Dikoma C, Weiduschat, Nora, Murrough, James W, Mao, Xiangling, Pillemer, Sarah, Dyke, Jonathan P, et al. (2012). Increased ventricular lactate in chronic fatigue syndrome. III. Relationships to cortical glutathione and clinical symptoms implicate oxidative stress in disorder pathophysiology.. NMR in biomedicine. https://doi.org/10.1002/nbm.2772
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-shungu-2012-increased-ventricular,
author = {Shungu, Dikoma C and Weiduschat, Nora and Murrough, James W and Mao, Xiangling and Pillemer, Sarah and Dyke, Jonathan P and Medow, Marvin S and Natelson, Benjamin H and Stewart, Julian M and Mathew, Sanjay J},
title = {Increased ventricular lactate in chronic fatigue syndrome. III. Relationships to cortical glutathione and clinical symptoms implicate oxidative stress in disorder pathophysiology.},
journal = {NMR in biomedicine},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1002/nbm.2772},
note = {PubMed: 22281935},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shungu-2012-increased-ventricular},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shungu-2012-increased-ventricular
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