[Activity of hypotnalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis by induction of experimental chronic fatigue syndrom].
Fomicheva, E E, Filatenkova, T A, Rybakina, E G·Rossiiskii fiziologicheskii zhurnal imeni I.M. Sechenova·2009
Researchers used an animal model to study how ME/CFS might affect the stress hormone system in the body. They gave rats a substance that mimics a viral infection, then tested whether the animals' adrenal glands (which produce cortisol, the main stress hormone) still responded normally. They found that the stress hormone system became less responsive, suggesting that an infection-like trigger could disrupt how the body regulates stress hormones.