Young, Joel L · Psychiatry research · 2013 · DOI
This study tested whether a medication called lisdexamfetamine (LDX), which affects brain chemicals related to focus and attention, could help people with ME/CFS who struggle with executive functioning—skills like planning, organizing, and decision-making. Twenty-six participants took either the medication or a placebo for 6 weeks, and those on LDX showed significantly better improvements in executive functioning, fatigue, and pain compared to placebo.
Executive dysfunction (brain fog, difficulty with planning and organization) is a hallmark symptom of ME/CFS that significantly impairs daily functioning. This is one of the first controlled trials examining a dopaminergic medication for these deficits, offering a potential new pharmacological avenue and challenging the assumption that CFS is primarily a fatigue disorder.
This small 6-week study does not establish that LDX is a cure or long-term solution for ME/CFS; benefits observed over 6 weeks may not persist or generalize to the broader, more diverse ME/CFS population. The study does not clarify whether improvements in executive function translate to meaningful real-world functional gains or whether LDX addresses underlying disease mechanisms.
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
Young, Joel L (2013). Use of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate in treatment of executive functioning deficits and chronic fatigue syndrome: a double blind, placebo-controlled study.. Psychiatry research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2012.09.007
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-young-2013-use-lisdexamfetamine,
author = {Young, Joel L},
title = {Use of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate in treatment of executive functioning deficits and chronic fatigue syndrome: a double blind, placebo-controlled study.},
journal = {Psychiatry research},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1016/j.psychres.2012.09.007},
note = {PubMed: 23062791},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/young-2013-use-lisdexamfetamine},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/young-2013-use-lisdexamfetamine
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