Wyller, Vegard Bruun · Acta neurologica Scandinavica. Supplementum · 2007 · DOI
ME/CFS is a serious condition where extreme fatigue is the main symptom and gets worse with activity rather than better with rest. This review of scientific research shows that ME/CFS affects more women than men, likely involves problems with the immune system and muscles, and that certain talk therapies and exercise programs have shown benefit in clinical trials. Most patients improve over time, though complete recovery is rare, especially in adults.
This comprehensive review provides a foundational framework for understanding ME/CFS across biological, psychological, and social dimensions, helping patients and clinicians recognize that the condition involves real physiological dysfunction rather than being purely psychological. The identification of evidence-based treatments (cognitive behavioral and exercise therapies) guides clinical practice and research priorities, while the biopsychosocial model supports more holistic patient care.
This review does not establish which perpetuating factors are primary or most important in individual patients, nor does it prove that the identified dysfunctions cause ME/CFS versus being consequences of the illness. The review also does not explain why graded exercise therapy benefits some patients while potentially worsening symptoms in others, nor does it clarify which genetic polymorphisms are truly causal versus associative.
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
Wyller, Vegard Bruun (2007). The chronic fatigue syndrome--an update.. Acta neurologica Scandinavica. Supplementum. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0404.2007.00840.x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-wyller-2007-chronic-fatigue,
author = {Wyller, Vegard Bruun},
title = {The chronic fatigue syndrome--an update.},
journal = {Acta neurologica Scandinavica. Supplementum},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1111/j.1600-0404.2007.00840.x},
note = {PubMed: 17419822},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wyller-2007-chronic-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wyller-2007-chronic-fatigue
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