ME/CFS Evidence Browser — Classified Studies on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

101–120 of 280 studies

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Potential of Activin B as a Clinical Biomarker in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

Gravelsina, Sabine, Nora-Krukle, Zaiga, Vilmane, Anda et al.·Biomolecules·2021

Researchers tested whether a protein called activin B could be used as a simple blood test to diagnose ME/CFS. They compared activin B levels in 134 people with ME/CFS and 54 healthy people, but found no meaningful difference between the two groups. Based on these results, activin B does not appear to be a useful diagnostic tool for ME/CFS.

Biomarkers

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Are Circulating Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 and N-Terminal Prohormone of Brain Natriuretic Peptide Promising Novel Biomarkers in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Domingo, Joan Carles, Cordobilla, Begoña, Ferrer, Roser et al.·Antioxidants & redox signaling·2021

This study looked for new blood markers that could help identify ME/CFS by measuring two proteins called FGF21 and NT-proBNP in patients and healthy people. The researchers found that ME/CFS patients had significantly higher levels of both proteins and showed signs of increased inflammation and oxidative stress (cellular damage). These findings suggest these proteins might be useful tools for diagnosing ME/CFS or developing new treatments.

BiomarkersImmune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Sex-Based Differences in Plasma Autoantibodies to Central Nervous System Proteins in Gulf War Veterans versus Healthy and Symptomatic Controls.

Abou-Donia, Mohamed B, Krengel, Maxine H, Lapadula, Elizabeth S et al.·Brain sciences·2021

Researchers found that Gulf War veterans with Gulf War illness have abnormal immune proteins in their blood that attack brain cells, and these patterns differ between men and women. The study also found that these same immune markers can help distinguish Gulf War illness from other similar conditions like ME/CFS and IBS. This discovery is important because it offers a possible objective blood test that doctors could use to identify and diagnose these difficult-to-recognize illnesses.

BiomarkersImmune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearObservational

Sex-specific plasma lipid profiles of ME/CFS patients and their association with pain, fatigue, and cognitive symptoms.

Nkiliza, Aurore, Parks, Megan, Cseresznye, Adam et al.·Journal of translational medicine·2021

This study analyzed fatty substances in the blood of ME/CFS patients and healthy controls to see if they differ in ways that might explain symptoms. Researchers found that men and women with ME/CFS had different patterns of these blood fats compared to healthy people. Importantly, certain blood fats were connected to the severity of fatigue, headaches, and thinking difficulties, suggesting that problems with how the body processes fats may play a role in ME/CFS symptoms.

BiomarkersEnergy MetabolismImmune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Exercise modifies glutamate and other metabolic biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid from Gulf War Illness and Myalgic encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Baraniuk, James N, Kern, Grant, Narayan, Vaishnavi et al.·PloS one·2021

Researchers studied the fluid around the brain and spinal cord in people with ME/CFS and Gulf War Illness to see how exercise affects certain chemicals in the body. They found that glutamate (a brain chemical) levels changed differently depending on whether someone had exercised and how their body responded, and that some fat-related molecules were different between the two conditions. This suggests that ME/CFS and Gulf War Illness may involve different problems with how the body uses energy and processes fats.

NeuroinflammationBiomarkersPost-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

The maintained attention assessment in patients affected by Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a reliable biomarker?

Murga, Iñigo, Aranburu, Larraitz, Gargiulo, Pascual A et al.·Journal of translational medicine·2021

This study looked at attention problems in ME/CFS patients by giving them a simple attention test (the Toulouse-Piéron test) and comparing their results to healthy people. Most ME/CFS patients had normal overall thinking skills, but 70% showed very low attention scores and complained of mental fatigue. Women with ME/CFS reported feeling more effort during the test than men did, even though their attention scores were similar.

Biomarkers

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearObservational

Evaluation of Immune Dysregulation in an Austrian Patient Cohort Suffering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Lutz, Lena, Rohrhofer, Johanna, Zehetmayer, Sonja et al.·Biomolecules·2021

This study looked at blood test results from 262 ME/CFS patients to understand problems with their immune systems. Researchers found that nearly two-thirds of patients had low levels of certain immune proteins or cells, while about one-quarter showed signs of inflammation. These findings suggest that immune system dysfunction is a common feature of ME/CFS and could potentially be used to help diagnose or treat the condition.

BiomarkersImmune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Plasma proteomic profiling suggests an association between antigen driven clonal B cell expansion and ME/CFS.

Milivojevic, Milica, Che, Xiaoyu, Bateman, Lucinda et al.·PloS one·2020

Researchers studied blood proteins in ME/CFS patients and healthy controls to look for disease markers. They found that certain immune-related proteins, particularly immunoglobulin proteins (which are part of the immune system), were abnormal in ME/CFS patients and could help identify who has the disease. The results suggest ME/CFS involves an overactive or dysregulated immune response.

BiomarkersImmune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Properties of measurements obtained during cardiopulmonary exercise testing in individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Davenport, Todd E, Stevens, Staci R, Stevens, Jared et al.·Work (Reading, Mass.)·2020

Researchers tested whether a standard exercise test (cardiopulmonary exercise test, or CPET) could reliably measure how ME/CFS affects the body's ability to exercise. They had 51 women with ME/CFS and 10 healthy women do the same exercise test twice, 24 hours apart. The results showed that the measurements were consistent and clearly different between the two groups, suggesting that CPET could be a useful tool for assessing ME/CFS.

Biomarkers

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Identification of actin network proteins, talin-1 and filamin-A, in circulating extracellular vesicles as blood biomarkers for human myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Eguchi, Akiko, Fukuda, Sanae, Kuratsune, Hirohiko et al.·Brain, behavior, and immunity·2020

This study found that people with ME/CFS have higher levels of tiny particles called extracellular vesicles in their blood, which contain specific proteins (talin-1 and filamin-A) that appear to be unique markers of the disease. By measuring these particles and proteins in a simple blood test, researchers were able to correctly identify ME/CFS patients about 90-94% of the time, suggesting this could become a useful diagnostic tool.

BiomarkersImmune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Metabolic analysis of amino acids and vitamin B6 pathways in lymphoma survivors with cancer related chronic fatigue.

Fosså, Alexander, Smeland, Knut Halvor, Fluge, Øystein et al.·PloS one·2020

This study looked at blood chemicals called amino acids and B vitamins in lymphoma survivors who experienced lasting fatigue after cancer treatment. Researchers found that people with this fatigue had lower tryptophan (an amino acid) and signs of ongoing low-level immune activation and inflammation. The study suggests that persistent tiredness after lymphoma treatment may be caused by the body's immune system staying activated longer than expected.

BiomarkersImmune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCase-Control

Using Plasma Autoantibodies of Central Nervous System Proteins to Distinguish Veterans with Gulf War Illness from Healthy and Symptomatic Controls.

Abou-Donia, Mohamed B, Lapadula, Elizabeth S, Krengel, Maxine H et al.·Brain sciences·2020

Researchers tested blood samples from Gulf War veterans with Gulf War Illness (GWI) and compared them to healthy veterans and people with ME/CFS or irritable bowel syndrome. They found that GWI veterans had higher levels of autoantibodies—proteins the immune system makes that mistakenly attack the brain and nervous system—compared to all three control groups. This suggests that a blood test measuring these autoantibodies could potentially help doctors diagnose Gulf War Illness objectively.

NeuroinflammationBiomarkers

E2 ModerateCohortPEM requiredCross-Sectional

The role of low-grade inflammation in ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) - associations with symptoms.

Jonsjö, Martin A, Olsson, Gunnar L, Wicksell, Rikard K et al.·Psychoneuroendocrinology·2020

This study looked at whether low-level inflammation in the blood is connected to ME/CFS symptoms like exhaustion after activity, brain fog, muscle pain, and flu-like illness. Researchers tested 53 ME/CFS patients for various inflammatory markers and found that several of these markers were associated with cognitive problems and pain, though they were surprisingly less connected to post-exertional fatigue. Interestingly, the connection between inflammation and symptoms was different for men and women in some cases.

BiomarkersImmune SystemCognitive ImpairmentPost-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Assessing diagnostic value of microRNAs from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and extracellular vesicles in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Almenar-Pérez, Eloy, Sarría, Leonor, Nathanson, Lubov et al.·Scientific reports·2020

This study looked for biological markers (tiny genetic molecules called microRNAs) in blood samples from severely ill ME/CFS patients that could help doctors diagnose the disease. Researchers found that certain microRNAs and physical characteristics of particles in the blood appeared different in ME/CFS patients compared to healthy controls. If validated in larger studies, these findings could eventually lead to a simple blood test for diagnosis.

BiomarkersImmune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredObservational

A Machine Learning Approach to the Differentiation of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) From a Sedentary Control.

Provenzano, Destie, Washington, Stuart D, Baraniuk, James N·Frontiers in computational neuroscience·2020

Researchers used a computer algorithm to analyze brain scans from ME/CFS patients and healthy controls while they performed a memory task, both before and after exercise. The algorithm was able to correctly identify which scans came from ME/CFS patients 80% of the time on the first day and 76% on the second day, suggesting that ME/CFS may create a distinctive pattern of brain activity that could eventually be used as an objective diagnostic test.

Biomarkers

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Machine Learning Detects Pattern of Differences in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Data between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Gulf War Illness (GWI).

Provenzano, Destie, Washington, Stuart D, Rao, Yuan J et al.·Brain sciences·2020

This study used brain imaging (fMRI) and computer learning programs to see if people with ME/CFS and Gulf War Illness have different patterns of brain activity during memory tasks, both before and after exercise. Researchers found that computer programs could correctly distinguish between the two conditions about 75-82% of the time, and identified about 30-33 brain regions that showed different activation patterns between the two groups. This suggests that ME/CFS and Gulf War Illness may have measurable biological differences in how the brain works during cognitive tasks and recovery from exertion.

BiomarkersPost-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

A new approach to find biomarkers in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) by single-cell Raman micro-spectroscopy.

Xu, Jiabao, Potter, Michelle, Tomas, Cara et al.·The Analyst·2019

Researchers used a new scanning technology called Raman spectroscopy to look at individual cells from ME/CFS patients and healthy people. They found that cells from ME/CFS patients had higher levels of a protein building block called phenylalanine, similar to cells with broken energy-producing structures (mitochondria). Using computer learning, they could identify ME/CFS patient cells with 98% accuracy based on this signature.

Biomarkers

E2 ModerateCohortPEM requiredCross-Sectional

Circulating levels of GDF15 in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Melvin, A, Lacerda, E, Dockrell, H M et al.·Journal of translational medicine·2019

This study measured a protein called GDF15 in the blood of ME/CFS patients and compared it to healthy people. GDF15 is released by cells when they are stressed or damaged. The researchers found that patients with severe ME/CFS had higher levels of GDF15 than healthy controls, and the levels of this protein were linked to how tired patients felt. The GDF15 levels stayed relatively stable over several months, suggesting it could be a useful marker for measuring cellular stress in ME/CFS.

Biomarkers

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredLongitudinal

Predictors of chronic fatigue in adolescents six months after acute Epstein-Barr virus infection: A prospective cohort study.

Pedersen, Maria, Asprusten, Tarjei Tørre, Godang, Kristin et al.·Brain, behavior, and immunity·2019

This study followed 200 teenagers who had an acute Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection to see which factors predicted who would develop lasting fatigue six months later. Researchers measured many baseline characteristics including pain sensitivity, mood, memory, physical activity level, and blood markers like vitamin B12 and inflammation levels. They found that fatigue six months after EBV was most strongly predicted by things like sensory sensitivity, pain, anxiety, and how active the teenager was—rather than by immune system markers alone.

Biomarkers

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredObservational

Decreased Expression of the CD57 Molecule in T Lymphocytes of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Espinosa, P, Urra, J M·Molecular neurobiology·2019

Researchers measured levels of a protein called CD57 on immune cells in ME/CFS patients and compared them to healthy people. They found that ME/CFS patients had significantly lower amounts of CD57 on their T cells (a type of white blood cell). This difference was large enough that measuring CD57 levels could potentially help doctors diagnose ME/CFS.

BiomarkersImmune System

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Evidence browser

Potential of Activin B as a Clinical Biomarker in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

Are Circulating Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 and N-Terminal Prohormone of Brain Natriuretic Peptide Promising Novel Biomarkers in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Sex-Based Differences in Plasma Autoantibodies to Central Nervous System Proteins in Gulf War Veterans versus Healthy and Symptomatic Controls.

Sex-specific plasma lipid profiles of ME/CFS patients and their association with pain, fatigue, and cognitive symptoms.

Exercise modifies glutamate and other metabolic biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid from Gulf War Illness and Myalgic encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

The maintained attention assessment in patients affected by Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a reliable biomarker?

Evaluation of Immune Dysregulation in an Austrian Patient Cohort Suffering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Plasma proteomic profiling suggests an association between antigen driven clonal B cell expansion and ME/CFS.

Properties of measurements obtained during cardiopulmonary exercise testing in individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Identification of actin network proteins, talin-1 and filamin-A, in circulating extracellular vesicles as blood biomarkers for human myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Metabolic analysis of amino acids and vitamin B6 pathways in lymphoma survivors with cancer related chronic fatigue.

Using Plasma Autoantibodies of Central Nervous System Proteins to Distinguish Veterans with Gulf War Illness from Healthy and Symptomatic Controls.

The role of low-grade inflammation in ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) - associations with symptoms.

Assessing diagnostic value of microRNAs from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and extracellular vesicles in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

A Machine Learning Approach to the Differentiation of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) From a Sedentary Control.

Machine Learning Detects Pattern of Differences in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Data between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Gulf War Illness (GWI).

A new approach to find biomarkers in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) by single-cell Raman micro-spectroscopy.

Circulating levels of GDF15 in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Predictors of chronic fatigue in adolescents six months after acute Epstein-Barr virus infection: A prospective cohort study.

Decreased Expression of the CD57 Molecule in T Lymphocytes of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

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