ME/CFS Evidence Browser — Classified Studies on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

4321–4340 of 6,163 studies

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM requiredReview-Narrative

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): An Overview.

Deumer, Undine-Sophie, Varesi, Angelica, Floris, Valentina et al.·Journal of clinical medicine·2021

ME/CFS is a long-term illness that causes extreme tiredness, worsening of symptoms after activity, and difficulty thinking clearly. Patients experience these symptoms very differently from one another, and currently there are no blood tests or physical exams that can definitively diagnose the condition. This review examines several potential causes, including past infections, genetic factors, hormone imbalances, and changes in gut bacteria, while exploring whether a simple blood test might someday help diagnose ME/CFS.

BiomarkersPost-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM requiredReview-Narrative

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review.

Natelson, Benjamin H, Brunjes, Danielle L, Mancini, Donna·Journal of the American College of Cardiology·2021

This review examines how ME/CFS affects the heart and blood vessels. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS often have hearts that pump less blood than healthy people, and their blood pressure drops at night. Many also experience rapid heartbeat when standing up. These heart changes may be connected to why people feel worse after physical or mental activity (postexertional malaise).

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

An attempt to explain the neurological symptoms of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Wirth, Klaus J, Scheibenbogen, Carmen, Paul, Friedemann·Journal of translational medicine·2021

This paper proposes an explanation for why ME/CFS patients experience brain fog, cognitive problems, headaches, and other neurological symptoms. The authors suggest that blood vessels in the brain may not be working properly, reducing blood flow to the brain and increasing pressure inside the skull. They argue this could also cause an overactive stress response in the nervous system, leading to the wide range of symptoms patients experience.

Cognitive Impairment

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis in children aged 5 to 11 years: A qualitative study.

Brigden, Amberly, Shaw, Alison, Anderson, Emma et al.·Clinical child psychology and psychiatry·2021

This study looked at how ME/CFS affects younger children (ages 5-11) and what their families experience. Researchers interviewed children and parents to understand how the illness impacts daily life and what kind of support they need. The study found that children over 8 years old can better understand and manage their illness compared to younger children, and that parents of very young children need more support from healthcare providers.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Potential Implications of Mammalian Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 7 in the Pathophysiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Review.

Du Preez, Stanley, Cabanas, Helene, Staines, Donald et al.·International journal of environmental research and public health·2021

This review examines a protein called TRPM7 that may play a role in ME/CFS. TRPM7 is an ion channel—a type of gateway that controls how calcium and other minerals move in and out of cells—and it appears to affect the nervous system, immune system, heart, and metabolism. The authors suggest that problems with TRPM7 could help explain some of the complex symptoms seen in ME/CFS, though this is still a developing area of research.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Lessons From Heat Stroke for Understanding Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Stanculescu, Dominic, Sepúlveda, Nuno, Lim, Chin Leong et al.·Frontiers in neurology·2021

This study compares how the body breaks down during heat stroke with what happens in ME/CFS. Both conditions involve similar problems: inflammation, damage to the gut lining that allows harmful substances into the bloodstream, blood clotting issues, and problems with how cells produce energy. By understanding heat stroke better, researchers hope to find new ways to treat ME/CFS.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryGuidelinePEM requiredGuideline

Caring for the Patient with Severe or Very Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Montoya, Jose G, Dowell, Theresa G, Mooney, Amy E et al.·Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)·2021

This guide focuses on caring for people with severe ME/CFS who struggle to leave their homes or beds. The authors explain that these patients often can't visit doctors' offices and doctors frequently don't have good information about how to help them. The guide provides practical recommendations for diagnosis, assessment, and treatment options, including using telemedicine and working closely with patients and caregivers to provide better care.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Split-Second Unlearning: Developing a Theory of Psychophysiological Dis-ease.

Hudson, Matt, Johnson, Mark I·Frontiers in psychology·2021

This study proposes that early emotional experiences—both traumatic and everyday—can create lasting patterns in how our bodies respond to stress. When we encounter triggers related to those memories, our body automatically activates a stress response even if the threat is no longer present. The researchers describe a new therapy approach where patients learn to observe their own automatic responses in the moment and gradually 'unlearn' the connection between the memory and the physical stress reaction.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome and the cardiovascular system: What is known?

Dixit, Neal M, Churchill, Austin, Nsair, Ali et al.·American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice·2021

Some people who have had COVID-19 develop long-lasting symptoms weeks or months later, including chest pain and heart palpitations (feeling your heart racing). This review examines what we know about how COVID-19 affects the heart during this long-COVID period. While the virus itself rarely causes direct heart damage, it can trigger several heart-related conditions that may explain why patients experience these symptoms.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Ross River Virus Immune Evasion Strategies and the Relevance to Post-viral Fatigue, and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Onset.

Lidbury, Brett A·Frontiers in medicine·2021

This study examines how Ross River virus, a mosquito-borne virus common in Australia, might trigger long-lasting fatigue and ME/CFS symptoms. The virus uses several tricks to hide from the immune system, and researchers propose these tricks may disrupt the body's energy-producing systems and cause the persistent exhaustion seen in ME/CFS. The findings suggest that understanding how this virus evades immunity could help explain why some viral infections lead to chronic fatigue.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearObservational

Insights From Invasive Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing of Patients With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Joseph, Phillip, Arevalo, Carlo, Oliveira, Rudolf K F et al.·Chest·2021

This study used specialized heart and lung testing during exercise to understand why people with ME/CFS struggle with physical activity. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients had two different problems during exercise: some had reduced blood flow returning to the heart, while others couldn't efficiently extract oxygen from their blood. About 31% of patients also showed evidence of small nerve fiber damage in their skin biopsies.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM not requiredMethods-Paper

Discernment of mediator and outcome measurement in the PACE trial.

Carr, Ewan, Vitoratou, Silia, Chalder, Trudie et al.·Journal of psychosomatic research·2021

Researchers wanted to check whether different questionnaires used in ME/CFS studies were actually measuring different things. They looked at data from 640 people in a large treatment trial and used statistical methods to see if the questions meant to measure thinking/behavior problems overlapped too much with questions measuring physical function and fatigue. They found that most of the questionnaires were measuring distinct concepts, which means the study design was solid.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Photobiomodulation and Sports: Results of a Narrative Review.

Ailioaie, Laura Marinela, Litscher, Gerhard·Life (Basel, Switzerland)·2021

This review looked at studies on photobiomodulation (PBM)—a treatment using light to help cells work better—and how it might help athletes recover faster and perform better. The researchers found that in about 25 human studies, PBM appeared helpful for reducing fatigue and supporting recovery, though some studies didn't show clear benefits. The authors suggest that with better devices and clearer protocols, PBM could potentially help people dealing with exhaustion and physical stress.

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM not requiredMechanistic

Broadband electrical impedance as a novel characterization of oxidative stress in single L6 skeletal muscle cells.

Ferguson, Caroline, Pini, Niccolo, Du, Xiaotian et al.·Analytica chimica acta·2021

This study tested whether a special electrical measurement could detect damage from oxidative stress (harmful chemical reactions) in muscle cells. Researchers treated rat muscle cells with hydrogen peroxide to create oxidative stress, then measured how these stressed cells behaved electrically compared to healthy cells. The stressed cells showed distinctly different electrical patterns, suggesting this technology might one day help diagnose ME/CFS by detecting oxidative stress in patients' muscle cells.

Biomarkers

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Central sensitivity and fibromyalgia.

Mezhov, Veronica, Guymer, Emma, Littlejohn, Geoffrey·Internal medicine journal·2021

Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS are conditions where the nervous system becomes oversensitive, causing widespread pain, fatigue, sleep problems, and brain fog. These conditions often occur together and share similar underlying problems with how the brain and spinal cord process pain and other signals. This review explains what causes these conditions and how doctors can recognize and treat them using a combination of education, exercise, stress management, and medications.

SleepCognitive Impairment

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: Immunologic contrasts and connective tissue comparisons.

Islam, Mareesa, Chang, Christopher, Gershwin, M Eric·Journal of translational autoimmunity·2021

This review article explains Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a group of inherited disorders that affect connective tissue in the body, causing symptoms like loose, stretchy skin and flexible joints. The authors describe the 13 different types of EDS, how doctors diagnose them, and how they're treated. While some forms of EDS involve inflammation, the exact mechanisms causing the disease are not fully understood.

Diagnostics

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

"it's a medical condition … you need to support as much as possible": a qualitative analysis of teachers' experiences of chronic fatigue syndrome / myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).

Brigden, Amberly, Shaw, Alison, Crawley, Esther·BMC pediatrics·2021

This study asked 11 primary school teachers about their experiences supporting children aged 5-11 with ME/CFS in the classroom. Teachers described seeing significant fatigue and thinking problems in their students, along with variable symptoms like pain, headaches, and sensitivity to light or sound. Most teachers wanted to help and used practical strategies like rest breaks and modified activities, but said they needed more training and resources to understand ME/CFS better.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not required

Elements of Suffering in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Experience of Loss, Grief, Stigma, and Trauma in the Severely and Very Severely Affected.

Fennell, Patricia A, Dorr, Nancy, George, Shane S·Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)·2021

This review article explores the deep suffering experienced by people with severe ME/CFS, looking at how losses, grief, stigma, and trauma from healthcare interactions affect their lives. The authors use a framework called the Fennell Four-Phase Model to help explain how chronic illness affects patients over time. The study emphasizes that healthcare providers need to understand and acknowledge the intense struggles that severely affected patients endure.

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Bone Marrow Defects of the Jaw - A Case Report on Additional Dental X-Ray Diagnostics with Ultrasound.

Lechner, Johann, Schick, Fabian·International medical case reports journal·2021

This case report describes a young man with ME/CFS who had headaches and tinnitus but no visible bone problems on standard X-rays. When doctors used ultrasound imaging, they found a suspicious area in his lower jawbone. Surgery revealed a fungal infection (aspergillosis) and inflamed tissue that standard X-rays had missed. This suggests that ultrasound might be a better tool for detecting hidden bone and jaw problems in some ME/CFS patients.

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCase-Control

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Case Report Highlighting Diagnosing and Treatment Challenges and the Possibility of Jarisch-Herxheimer Reactions If High Infectious Loads Are Present.

Straub, Rachel K, Powers, Christopher M·Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)·2021

This study follows one patient's journey with severe ME/CFS, examining how past infections and health conditions may have contributed to her illness and how various treatments affected her recovery. The case highlights that some treatments can paradoxically make symptoms worse before improvement occurs, especially if someone has high levels of lingering infections. The patient eventually improved enough to return to graduate school, though her experience also shows how serious and disabling ME/CFS can be for some people.

Diagnostics

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Evidence Atlas

Evidence browser

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): An Overview.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review.

An attempt to explain the neurological symptoms of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis in children aged 5 to 11 years: A qualitative study.

Potential Implications of Mammalian Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 7 in the Pathophysiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Review.

Lessons From Heat Stroke for Understanding Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Caring for the Patient with Severe or Very Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Split-Second Unlearning: Developing a Theory of Psychophysiological Dis-ease.

Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome and the cardiovascular system: What is known?

Ross River Virus Immune Evasion Strategies and the Relevance to Post-viral Fatigue, and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Onset.

Insights From Invasive Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing of Patients With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Discernment of mediator and outcome measurement in the PACE trial.

Photobiomodulation and Sports: Results of a Narrative Review.

Broadband electrical impedance as a novel characterization of oxidative stress in single L6 skeletal muscle cells.

Central sensitivity and fibromyalgia.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: Immunologic contrasts and connective tissue comparisons.

"it's a medical condition … you need to support as much as possible": a qualitative analysis of teachers' experiences of chronic fatigue syndrome / myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).

Elements of Suffering in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Experience of Loss, Grief, Stigma, and Trauma in the Severely and Very Severely Affected.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Bone Marrow Defects of the Jaw - A Case Report on Additional Dental X-Ray Diagnostics with Ultrasound.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Case Report Highlighting Diagnosing and Treatment Challenges and the Possibility of Jarisch-Herxheimer Reactions If High Infectious Loads Are Present.

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