Turan, Tayfun, Izgi, Hasan Basri, Ozsoy, Saliha et al. · Psychiatry investigation · 2009 · DOI
This study tested whether a medication called galantamine, which increases a brain chemical called acetylcholine, could help ME/CFS patients by improving hormone imbalances. Researchers measured two stress hormones (cortisol and DHEAS) in 29 ME/CFS patients before and after 4 weeks of treatment, comparing them to healthy controls. They found that in patients who improved with the medication, the abnormal hormone levels shifted back toward normal, suggesting the cholinergic system may play a role in ME/CFS.
This study provides mechanistic evidence that brain chemistry imbalances in ME/CFS may be addressable through cholinergic modulation, offering a biological rationale for symptom-targeted treatment approaches. Understanding hormonal dysfunction in ME/CFS could lead to new diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic options for cognitive dysfunction and fatigue.
This study does not prove that galantamine is an effective treatment for ME/CFS as a whole—only that it normalized certain hormone ratios in responders over 4 weeks. It cannot establish causation between cholinergic deficit and ME/CFS, only association. The lack of placebo control and small sample size prevent conclusions about treatment efficacy or broader applicability.
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
Turan, Tayfun, Izgi, Hasan Basri, Ozsoy, Saliha, Tanrıverdi, Fatih, Basturk, Mustafa, Asdemir, Akif, et al. (2009). The effects of galantamine hydrobromide treatment on dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and cortisol levels in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Psychiatry investigation. https://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2009.6.3.204
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-turan-2009-effects-galantamine,
author = {Turan, Tayfun and Izgi, Hasan Basri and Ozsoy, Saliha and Tanrıverdi, Fatih and Basturk, Mustafa and Asdemir, Akif and Beşirli, Aslı and Esel, Ertugrul and Sofuoglu, Seher},
title = {The effects of galantamine hydrobromide treatment on dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and cortisol levels in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Psychiatry investigation},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.4306/pi.2009.6.3.204},
note = {PubMed: 20046396},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/turan-2009-effects-galantamine},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/turan-2009-effects-galantamine
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