Sun, Qian, Oltra, Elisa, Dijck-Brouwer, D A Janneke et al. · Redox biology · 2023 · DOI
Some people with ME/CFS have antibodies that attack a protein called selenoprotein P, which normally helps transport selenium (a mineral needed for thyroid function) throughout the body. This study found that ME/CFS patients with these antibodies have lower selenium levels and struggle to convert thyroid hormone into its active form, which could explain why they feel tired and have other thyroid-like symptoms even when standard thyroid tests appear normal.
This research identifies a potential biomarker (SELENOP-aAb) and biological mechanism that could explain thyroid-like symptoms in a subset of ME/CFS patients whose standard thyroid tests appear normal—a long-standing clinical puzzle. If confirmed, this could lead to new diagnostic tests and targeted treatments specifically for SELENOP-aAb-positive patients, potentially offering relief to patients currently dismissed as having normal thyroid function.
This study does not prove that SELENOP-aAb directly causes ME/CFS or that correcting selenium deficiency will reverse the illness—correlation does not equal causation. The cross-sectional design cannot establish whether autoantibodies are a cause or consequence of the disease. Additionally, the findings in this specific subgroup may not apply to all ME/CFS patients, and clinical benefit from selenium or other interventions remains unproven.
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
Sun, Qian, Oltra, Elisa, Dijck-Brouwer, D A Janneke, Chillon, Thilo Samson, Seemann, Petra, Asaad, Sabrina, et al. (2023). Autoantibodies to selenoprotein P in chronic fatigue syndrome suggest selenium transport impairment and acquired resistance to thyroid hormone.. Redox biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2023.102796
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-sun-2023-autoantibodies-selenoprotein,
author = {Sun, Qian and Oltra, Elisa and Dijck-Brouwer, D A Janneke and Chillon, Thilo Samson and Seemann, Petra and Asaad, Sabrina and Demircan, Kamil and Espejo-Oltra, José Andrés and Sánchez-Fito, Teresa and Martín-Martínez, Eva and Minich, Waldemar B and Muskiet, Frits A J and Schomburg, Lutz},
title = {Autoantibodies to selenoprotein P in chronic fatigue syndrome suggest selenium transport impairment and acquired resistance to thyroid hormone.},
journal = {Redox biology},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1016/j.redox.2023.102796},
note = {PubMed: 37423160},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sun-2023-autoantibodies-selenoprotein},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sun-2023-autoantibodies-selenoprotein
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.