Xie, Fangfang, Guan, Chong, Gu, Yuanjia et al. · Frontiers in neurology · 2022 · DOI
This study tested whether a traditional Chinese exercise method called Qigong could help people with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Researchers used brain imaging to see how the method changed activity in different parts of the brain, and measured whether patients felt less tired and had better quality of life. The Qigong group showed improvements in fatigue and quality of life, with specific changes in brain activity patterns.
Understanding how mind-body interventions affect brain function in ME/CFS could help explain mechanisms of symptom improvement and validate complementary treatment approaches. This neuroimaging data provides objective biomarkers potentially linking therapeutic interventions to measurable brain changes in CFS patients.
This study does not establish that Qigong is superior to CBT or standard care for all CFS patients, as both groups received interventions and comparison of their relative efficacy is not clearly detailed in the abstract. The correlation between brain imaging changes and symptom improvement does not prove causation—changes could be epiphenomenal rather than driving recovery. The small sample size (34 patients total) limits the ability to generalize findings to the broader CFS population.
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
Xie, Fangfang, Guan, Chong, Gu, Yuanjia, You, Yanli, & Yao, Fei (2022). Effects of the Prolong Life With Nine Turn Method (Yan Nian Jiu Zhuan) Qigong on Brain Functional Changes in Patients With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Terms of Fatigue and Quality of Life.. Frontiers in neurology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2022.866424
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-xie-2022-effects-prolong,
author = {Xie, Fangfang and Guan, Chong and Gu, Yuanjia and You, Yanli and Yao, Fei},
title = {Effects of the Prolong Life With Nine Turn Method (Yan Nian Jiu Zhuan) Qigong on Brain Functional Changes in Patients With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Terms of Fatigue and Quality of Life.},
journal = {Frontiers in neurology},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.3389/fneur.2022.866424},
note = {PubMed: 35911899},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/xie-2022-effects-prolong},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/xie-2022-effects-prolong
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