Tanaka, Hidetaka · Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine · 2007
This review examined how the autonomic nervous system—the part of your nervous system that controls automatic functions like heart rate and blood pressure—might be involved in childhood ME/CFS. Researchers found that about one-third of children with ME/CFS had problems regulating their blood pressure and heart rate when standing up, a condition called orthostatic dysregulation. While some studies suggested increased sympathetic nervous system activity, the findings were not consistent across all research.
Understanding autonomic dysfunction is clinically relevant because orthostatic symptoms are common complaints in ME/CFS patients and represent a potentially modifiable treatment target. This review helps clarify which autonomic abnormalities are consistently measurable in children with ME/CFS, informing both diagnostic approaches and therapeutic interventions.
This study does not establish that autonomic dysfunction causes ME/CFS—only that it may be associated with certain symptoms in some patients. The review acknowledges that correlation between autonomic abnormalities and CFS does not prove causation, and the inconsistent findings across studies mean no single autonomic mechanism has been definitively identified as primary to disease pathogenesis.
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
Tanaka, Hidetaka (2007). [Autonomic function and child chronic fatigue syndrome].. Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17561705/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-tanaka-2007-autonomic-function,
author = {Tanaka, Hidetaka},
title = {[Autonomic function and child chronic fatigue syndrome].},
journal = {Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine},
year = {2007},
note = {PubMed: 17561705},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tanaka-2007-autonomic-function},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tanaka-2007-autonomic-function
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