Yao, Fei, Zhao, Yi, Jiang, Shichao et al. · Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion · 2015
This study explores traditional Chinese medicine (acupuncture) theory to understand chronic fatigue syndrome. The researchers examined how the bladder meridian—a pathway used in acupuncture treatment—may relate to fatigue, sleep problems, and organ function. They propose that treating this meridian might help reduce both physical and mental exhaustion in ME/CFS patients.
This study bridges traditional medicine theory with modern understanding of ME/CFS, offering a theoretical foundation for why acupuncture treatments targeting the bladder meridian might benefit fatigue and sleep disturbances—symptoms affecting virtually all ME/CFS patients. Understanding multiple therapeutic frameworks may help patients and clinicians explore complementary treatment approaches.
This study does not provide clinical evidence that bladder meridian acupuncture actually treats ME/CFS. It is a theoretical paper without patient data, controlled trials, or measurable outcomes. The proposed mechanisms remain hypothetical and cannot be verified from this analysis alone.
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
Yao, Fei, Zhao, Yi, Jiang, Shichao, & Fang, Min (2015). [The theorotical basis for chronic fatigue syndrome from bladder meridian of foot-taiyang].. Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26062210/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-yao-2015-theorotical-basis,
author = {Yao, Fei and Zhao, Yi and Jiang, Shichao and Fang, Min},
title = {[The theorotical basis for chronic fatigue syndrome from bladder meridian of foot-taiyang].},
journal = {Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion},
year = {2015},
note = {PubMed: 26062210},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/yao-2015-theorotical-basis},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/yao-2015-theorotical-basis
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