Vernon, Suzanne D, Reeves, William C · Journal of autoimmune diseases · 2005 · DOI
Researchers tested blood samples from people with ME/CFS and healthy controls to look for autoantibodies—proteins the immune system makes that can attack the body's own cells. They found that some people with ME/CFS had higher levels of antibodies against two specific targets: a brain protein called MAP2 and a component of DNA. However, most common autoantibodies were not elevated in ME/CFS patients.
Identifying specific autoantibodies in ME/CFS could help distinguish patient subgroups with different underlying causes, potentially enabling more targeted treatments. These findings provide biological evidence supporting an immune system role in ME/CFS and offer potential biomarkers for future diagnostic or prognostic studies.
This study does not prove that these autoantibodies cause ME/CFS—they may be a consequence of the illness or simply associated with it. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causation or determine whether these antibodies appear before, during, or after symptom onset. The study also does not explain why only some patients have these antibodies or what clinical significance they carry.
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 →
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Primary citation
Vernon, Suzanne D & Reeves, William C (2005). Evaluation of autoantibodies to common and neuronal cell antigens in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Journal of autoimmune diseases. https://doi.org/10.1186/1740-2557-2-5
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-vernon-2005-evaluation-autoantibodies,
author = {Vernon, Suzanne D and Reeves, William C},
title = {Evaluation of autoantibodies to common and neuronal cell antigens in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of autoimmune diseases},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1186/1740-2557-2-5},
note = {PubMed: 15916704},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vernon-2005-evaluation-autoantibodies},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vernon-2005-evaluation-autoantibodies
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