Visser, J, Lentjes, E, Haspels, I et al. · Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research · 2001 · DOI
Researchers found that immune cells from ME/CFS patients react more strongly to a stress hormone called dexamethasone (a type of glucocorticoid) than cells from healthy people. However, the cells have the same number of receptors for this hormone and bind it with the same strength, suggesting the heightened sensitivity comes from something happening inside the cells after the hormone attaches, rather than from problems with the receptors themselves.
This finding suggests that ME/CFS patients' cells may be hypersensitive to stress hormones through mechanisms beyond receptor availability or binding—possibly involving intracellular signaling pathways. Understanding these downstream mechanisms could lead to targeted therapies and may explain some HPA axis abnormalities observed in ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that glucocorticoid hypersensitivity causes ME/CFS symptoms or is the primary driver of immune dysfunction in the disease. It also does not identify which specific intracellular pathways cause the heightened sensitivity, and findings in cultured cells may not fully reflect in vivo immune responses. The small sample size limits generalizability.
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
Visser, J, Lentjes, E, Haspels, I, Graffelman, W, Blauw, B, de Kloet, R, et al. (2001). Increased sensitivity to glucocorticoids in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of chronic fatigue syndrome patients, without evidence for altered density or affinity of glucocorticoid receptors.. Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research. https://doi.org/10.2310/6650.2001.34047
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-visser-2001-increased-sensitivity,
author = {Visser, J and Lentjes, E and Haspels, I and Graffelman, W and Blauw, B and de Kloet, R and Nagelkerken, L},
title = {Increased sensitivity to glucocorticoids in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of chronic fatigue syndrome patients, without evidence for altered density or affinity of glucocorticoid receptors.},
journal = {Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.2310/6650.2001.34047},
note = {PubMed: 11288761},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/visser-2001-increased-sensitivity},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/visser-2001-increased-sensitivity
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