van Eeden, Charmaine, Redmond, Desiree, Mohazab, Naima et al. · International journal of molecular sciences · 2023 · DOI
This study looked at people with a connective tissue disease called systemic sclerosis who also experience severe fatigue (ME/CFS symptoms). Researchers found that fatigued patients had different patterns in how their cells' energy-producing structures (mitochondria) work compared to non-fatigued patients. These differences involved specific genes related to energy production, suggesting that measuring these genes might help doctors identify which systemic sclerosis patients have ME/CFS.
This research provides the first potential biomarker signature to distinguish ME/CFS in systemic sclerosis patients, addressing a significant gap since no validated biomarkers currently exist for ME/CFS. If validated, these mitochondrial markers could enable earlier identification of fatigued patients and potentially predict more severe disease outcomes, improving clinical management and prognosis.
This study does not prove that mitochondrial dysfunction causes ME/CFS or fatigue—it only shows an association. The cross-sectional design cannot establish whether the mitochondrial changes precede fatigue development or result from it. These findings are specific to systemic sclerosis patients and may not apply to ME/CFS in other conditions or in primary ME/CFS without underlying rheumatic disease.
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
van Eeden, Charmaine, Redmond, Desiree, Mohazab, Naima, Larché, Maggie J, Mason, Andrew L, Cohen Tervaert, Jan Willem, et al. (2023). Evidence of a Novel Mitochondrial Signature in Systemic Sclerosis Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. International journal of molecular sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241512057
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-van-eeden-2023-evidence-novel,
author = {van Eeden, Charmaine and Redmond, Desiree and Mohazab, Naima and Larché, Maggie J and Mason, Andrew L and Cohen Tervaert, Jan Willem and Osman, Mohammed S},
title = {Evidence of a Novel Mitochondrial Signature in Systemic Sclerosis Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3390/ijms241512057},
note = {PubMed: 37569433},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/van-eeden-2023-evidence-novel},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/van-eeden-2023-evidence-novel
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.