ME/CFS Evidence Browser — Classified Studies on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

4001–4020 of 6,209 studies

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM unclearMethods-Paper

Determining the societal value of a prospective drug for ME/CFS in Germany.

Gandjour, Afschin·PloS one·2024

This study examined how much money Germany should invest in developing a new ME/CFS drug to provide the greatest benefit to patients and society. Researchers calculated that an effective ME/CFS drug could improve quality of life for thousands of patients and save billions of euros, and they determined that Germany's optimal investment would be around €676 million. The study emphasizes that developing ME/CFS treatments requires countries to work together internationally because no single country can bear the full cost alone.

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM requiredMethods-Paper

Assessing Functional Capacity in Myalgic Encephalopathy/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Patient-Informed Questionnaire.

Sommerfelt, Kristian, Schei, Trude, Seton, Katharine A et al.·Journal of clinical medicine·2024

Researchers created a new questionnaire called FUNCAP to measure how much people with ME/CFS can actually do in their daily lives. The tool has two versions: a longer one with 55 questions (for doctors and disability assessments) and a shorter one with 27 questions (for regular check-ups). After testing it with thousands of patients from Norway and around the world, they found it works reliably and accurately captures the impact of ME/CFS on real-life activities.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclear

Successful treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome using hydrogen gas: four case reports.

Hirano, Shin-Ichi, Ichikawa, Yusuke, Sato, Bunpei et al.·Medical gas research·2024

This study looked at four patients with ME/CFS who were treated with hydrogen gas and reported improvements in their symptoms. The researchers described how each patient used hydrogen gas therapy and what changes they noticed over time. While the results are encouraging for these individual cases, this is a very small study that needs much larger research to confirm whether hydrogen gas could help ME/CFS patients more broadly.

Interventions

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM not requiredLongitudinal

Time-dependent complexity characterisation of activity patterns in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Rabaey, Paloma, Decat, Peter, Heytens, Stefan et al.·BioPsychoSocial medicine·2024

Researchers tracked the physical activity patterns of 7 ME/CFS patients over 3 weeks to see if the complexity of how they move changes over time and relates to how well they're functioning. They found that each patient's activity complexity varied significantly from week to week, and these changes didn't consistently match whether patients reported feeling better or worse. This suggests that measuring activity patterns alone may not be a reliable way to track how ME/CFS patients are doing.

Autonomic Nervous System

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM requiredReview-Narrative

[Interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy in postviral syndromes and ME/CFS : Features, pitfalls and model concept].

Luchting, Benjamin, Behrends, Uta, Eigner, Bianca et al.·Schmerz (Berlin, Germany)·2024

Standard pain therapy programs often push patients to gradually increase their activity levels, but this approach can be harmful for people with ME/CFS because of postexertional malaise (PEM)—a worsening of symptoms after physical or mental effort. This paper reviews how pain therapy should be redesigned specifically for ME/CFS patients and presents a new model clinic program that carefully adjusts treatment to each person's individual tolerance levels to avoid triggering symptom flares.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearObservational

Deep phenotyping of post-infectious myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Walitt, Brian, Singh, Komudi, LaMunion, Samuel R et al.·Nature communications·2024

This study carefully examined 17 people with ME/CFS that started after an infection and compared them to healthy controls to understand what's happening in their bodies and brains. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS have trouble with how their brain decides whether to exert effort (not because their muscles are weak, but because their brain's decision-making is altered), along with immune system changes showing ongoing response to past infections, and differences in how their cells use energy. These discoveries suggest ME/CFS involves multiple body systems working abnormally together, which could help guide future treatments.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryGuidelinePEM unclearGuideline

[Exercise prescription in post-COVID syndrome: A challenge for primary healthcare].

Yagüe Sebastián, M M, Sánchez Quintanilla, S·Semergen·2024

After COVID-19, some people develop long-lasting symptoms like fatigue, headaches, and muscle pain—a condition called Post-COVID Syndrome. This article discusses how exercise and rehabilitation can help these patients, but emphasizes that doctors need to carefully test patients' fitness, breathing, and strength first before designing a safe exercise program. Working with a team of different healthcare providers gives the best results.

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM requiredCase-Control

Mitochondrial DNA Missense Mutations ChrMT: 8981A > G and ChrMT: 6268C > T Identified in a Caucasian Female with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Triggered by the Epstein-Barr Virus.

Tang-Siegel, Gaoyan G, Maughan, David W, Frownfelter, Milah B et al.·Case reports in genetics·2024

This study describes one patient with ME/CFS whose symptoms began after a severe viral infection (Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis) 24 years ago. Researchers found that her cells had genetic mutations affecting the mitochondria—the 'power plants' that produce energy for our bodies—which may explain her extreme fatigue and difficulty recovering from physical activity. The study also found abnormal mitochondria circulating in her blood, suggesting that energy production problems may be contributing to her ME/CFS symptoms.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryCommentaryPEM unclearEditorial

Microvascular Capillary and Precapillary Cardiovascular Disturbances Strongly Interact to Severely Affect Tissue Perfusion and Mitochondrial Function in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Evolving from the Post COVID-19 Syndrome.

Wirth, Klaus Josef, Löhn, Matthias·Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)·2024

This study proposes that ME/CFS may develop from COVID-19 in some people due to problems with how blood flows through tiny vessels in the body. The researchers suggest that abnormal blood cells and clots, combined with weak heart function and overly constricted blood vessels, create a double problem that starves muscles of oxygen and damages the energy-producing structures (mitochondria) inside cells. This combination may trigger a harmful cycle that keeps the problem going.

Energy Metabolism

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

'Welcome to my world': a thematic analysis of the lived experiences of people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis during the UK COVID-19 lockdown.

Portch, Emma, Moseley, Rachel L, Wignall, Liam et al.·Psychology & health·2024

This study asked 30 people with ME/CFS about their experiences during the UK's first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. The researchers found that while digital tools became more accessible during lockdown (which helped some participants), people with ME/CFS had already developed their own coping strategies from being isolated by their illness for years. Participants were concerned that once lockdown ended, society wouldn't better understand what it's like to live with severe restrictions due to illness.

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearMechanistic

Potential pathophysiological role of the ion channel TRPM3 in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and the therapeutic effect of low-dose naltrexone.

Löhn, Matthias, Wirth, Klaus Josef·Journal of translational medicine·2024

This study explores how a specific ion channel called TRPM3, which helps control pain signals and immune cell function, may not work properly in ME/CFS patients. The researchers found that immune cells called natural killer cells have reduced function due to TRPM3 problems, and a medication called low-dose naltrexone (LDN) may help restore this function in laboratory tests. This could explain why some ME/CFS patients report feeling better with LDN treatment.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearMechanistic

Six-Week Supplementation with Creatine in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): A Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Feasibility Study at 3 Tesla.

Godlewska, Beata R, Sylvester, Amy L, Emir, Uzay E et al.·Nutrients·2024

Researchers gave 11 people with ME/CFS a creatine supplement (a natural substance that helps cells produce energy) for 6 weeks. Brain scans showed the supplement increased creatine levels in key brain regions, and participants reported feeling less fatigued, had faster reaction times on thinking tests, and showed stronger hand grip strength. The supplement was well tolerated with no side effects reported.

Cognitive Impairment

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Functional neurological disorder, physical activity and exercise: What we know and what we can learn from comorbid disorders.

Boylan, Kelly A, Dworetzky, Barbara A, Baslet, Gaston et al.·Epilepsy & behavior reports·2024

This review examines how exercise and physical activity might help people with functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition that causes neurological symptoms without a clear structural brain abnormality. The authors note that FND often occurs alongside other conditions like ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and POTS, and they suggest that problems with the autonomic nervous system (which controls automatic body functions) may underlie these conditions. By looking at research on exercise in related disorders, they explore how physical activity might help regulate the nervous system and reduce symptoms.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM unclearMethods-Paper

Health Controversies: Long-Term Disagreement Management Challenges.

Jackson, Sally·Journal of health communication·2024

This paper examines how major disagreements about health topics—including ME/CFS—develop and persist over long periods of time across different countries and communities. The author explains that these health controversies involve many people with different viewpoints who argue in multiple places (medical journals, courts, social media, etc.), and that how we manage these disagreements matters. The study shows that ME/CFS is a particularly important example because disagreements about it have shaped how institutions are designed to handle health disputes.

Diagnostics

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM unclearMethods-Paper

KombOver: Efficient k-core and K-truss based characterization of perturbations within the human gut microbiome.

Sapoval, Nicolae, Tanevski, Marko, Treangen, Todd J·Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing. Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing·2024

This study describes a new computer tool called KombOver that analyzes bacteria in the gut more efficiently than previous methods. Researchers tested it on nearly 1,000 gut samples from people with ME/CFS and other conditions to see how microbial communities change in response to illness. The tool works much faster and requires less computing power than earlier versions, making it more practical for large research studies.

Gut Microbiome

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Using time diaries to inform occupational therapy practice for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: An exploratory study.

Roxburgh, Rachel, Hughes, Julie, Milgate, Wendy·The British journal of occupational therapy·2024

This Australian study looked at how nine people with ME/CFS spend their time each day using a special diary tool. Researchers found that participants spent about 58% of their waking time on leisure and relaxation activities, and their symptoms didn't seem to change much throughout the day. The study suggests that using time diaries could help occupational therapists (specialists who help people manage daily activities) understand better how ME/CFS affects what patients can do, and design better support strategies.

E3 PreliminaryCommentaryPEM requiredEditorial

Attenuating post-exertional malaise in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and long-COVID: Is blood lactate monitoring the answer?

Faghy, Professor Mark A, Ashton, Dr Ruth Em, McNelis, Mr Robin et al.·Current problems in cardiology·2024

This editorial discusses whether measuring blood lactate levels could help manage post-exertional malaise (PEM)—the debilitating fatigue that occurs after physical activity in ME/CFS and long-COVID patients. The authors suggest that blood lactate monitoring might help identify safe exercise limits and prevent PEM crashes. However, this is an opinion piece rather than a research study with new data.

BiomarkersPost-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearObservational

A Pilot Study on the Effects of Exercise Training on Cardiorespiratory Performance, Quality of Life, and Immunologic Variables in Long COVID.

Abbasi, Asghar, Gattoni, Chiara, Iacovino, Michelina et al.·Journal of clinical medicine·2024

This study tested whether supervised aerobic exercise training could help people with long COVID. Fourteen participants completed 20 sessions of exercise training over 10 weeks. After training, people reported feeling less fatigued, less anxious and depressed, and had better heart and lung fitness—without experiencing harmful immune system changes.

Immune SystemPost-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearMechanistic

Central 5-HTergic hyperactivity induces myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)-like pathophysiology.

Lee, Jin-Seok, Kang, Ji-Yun, Park, Samuel-Young et al.·Journal of translational medicine·2024

Researchers found that excess serotonin (a brain chemical) in a specific brain region called the dorsal raphe nuclei can cause fatigue and symptoms similar to ME/CFS in mice. They tested this by giving mice high doses of common antidepressants (SSRIs) that increase serotonin levels, and the mice developed severe tiredness, difficulty with physical activity, and problems with their stress response system. This suggests that too much serotonin activity in the brain might be involved in causing ME/CFS symptoms.

Endocrine Disruption

E3 PreliminaryBehavioralPEM unclearLongitudinal

Disentangling pain and fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome: a resting state connectivity study before and after cognitive behavioral therapy.

van der Schaaf, Marieke E, Geerligs, Linda, Toni, Ivan et al.·Psychological medicine·2024

This study looked at how fatigue and pain affect different networks in the brain of ME/CFS patients by taking brain scans at rest. The researchers found that fatigue and pain involve different brain circuits, suggesting they may be caused by different mechanisms. After cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), patients who improved showed better communication between brain regions associated with movement and the brain's resting network.

Pain and Sensitization

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Determining the societal value of a prospective drug for ME/CFS in Germany.

Assessing Functional Capacity in Myalgic Encephalopathy/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Patient-Informed Questionnaire.

Successful treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome using hydrogen gas: four case reports.

Time-dependent complexity characterisation of activity patterns in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

[Interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy in postviral syndromes and ME/CFS : Features, pitfalls and model concept].

Deep phenotyping of post-infectious myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

[Exercise prescription in post-COVID syndrome: A challenge for primary healthcare].

Mitochondrial DNA Missense Mutations ChrMT: 8981A > G and ChrMT: 6268C > T Identified in a Caucasian Female with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Triggered by the Epstein-Barr Virus.

Microvascular Capillary and Precapillary Cardiovascular Disturbances Strongly Interact to Severely Affect Tissue Perfusion and Mitochondrial Function in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Evolving from the Post COVID-19 Syndrome.

'Welcome to my world': a thematic analysis of the lived experiences of people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis during the UK COVID-19 lockdown.

Potential pathophysiological role of the ion channel TRPM3 in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and the therapeutic effect of low-dose naltrexone.

Six-Week Supplementation with Creatine in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): A Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Feasibility Study at 3 Tesla.

Functional neurological disorder, physical activity and exercise: What we know and what we can learn from comorbid disorders.

Health Controversies: Long-Term Disagreement Management Challenges.

KombOver: Efficient k-core and K-truss based characterization of perturbations within the human gut microbiome.

Using time diaries to inform occupational therapy practice for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: An exploratory study.

Attenuating post-exertional malaise in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and long-COVID: Is blood lactate monitoring the answer?

A Pilot Study on the Effects of Exercise Training on Cardiorespiratory Performance, Quality of Life, and Immunologic Variables in Long COVID.

Central 5-HTergic hyperactivity induces myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)-like pathophysiology.

Disentangling pain and fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome: a resting state connectivity study before and after cognitive behavioral therapy.

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