ME/CFS Evidence Browser — Classified Studies on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

4901–4920 of 6,164 studies

E3 PreliminaryBehavioralPEM not requiredCase-Control

Psychological stress contributed to the development of low-grade fever in a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome: a case report.

Oka, Takakazu, Kanemitsu, Yoshio, Sudo, Nobuyuki et al.·BioPsychoSocial medicine·2013

This study followed one ME/CFS patient who noticed her low-grade fevers got worse during stressful work situations. Researchers had her recall stressful memories while measuring her body temperature and stress hormones. Her core temperature rose by about 1°C during stress, but blood markers related to fever-causing inflammation didn't change, suggesting stress hormones (not immune inflammation) triggered the temperature increase.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM requiredReview-Narrative

A neuro-immune model of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic fatigue syndrome.

Morris, Gerwyn, Maes, Michael·Metabolic brain disease·2013

This study proposes a theory about how ME/CFS develops and persists. The researchers suggest that an initial infection triggers the immune system, which then gets stuck in an overactive state even after the infection is cleared. This causes ongoing inflammation, energy problems in cells, and damage to the nervous system, leading to the characteristic symptoms including post-exertional malaise (feeling worse after activity).

NeuroinflammationAutonomic Nervous SystemImmune SystemPost-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryPEM not required

[Neurasthenia in Norway 1880-1920].

Lillestøl, Kristine, Bondevik, Hilde·Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke·2013

This study looked at historical medical records from Norway between 1880 and 1920 to understand how doctors understood and treated a condition called neurasthenia, which many believe was similar to today's ME/CFS. Doctors at that time described it as a weakness of the nervous system with exhaustion as the main symptom, though they couldn't find any physical cause. Treatment focused on rest and electrical therapy to strengthen the nerves.

E3 PreliminaryBehavioralPEM unclear

'The letting go, the building up, [and] the gradual process of rebuilding': identity change and post-traumatic growth in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Arroll, Megan A, Howard, Alex·Psychology & health·2013

This study talked to 10 people with ME/CFS about how the illness changed who they are as a person. Participants described losing abilities they once had, feeling isolated from others, and worrying about their future. Interestingly, some people reported finding unexpected personal growth through this experience—developing a stronger sense of their 'true self' after accepting their new limitations.

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM not requiredMethods-Paper

Self-regulatory fatigue in chronic multisymptom illnesses: scale development, fatigue, and self-control.

Nes, Lise Solberg, Ehlers, Shawna L, Whipple, Mary O et al.·Journal of pain research·2013

This study created a new questionnaire to measure a specific type of mental tiredness called self-regulatory fatigue—the exhaustion that comes from having to constantly manage your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Researchers gave this 18-question test to nearly 300 people with chronic illnesses like fibromyalgia and ME/CFS, along with standard fatigue and self-control tests. They found that this mental tiredness is related to, but distinct from, physical fatigue—suggesting it's a separate problem worth measuring and understanding.

Cognitive Impairment

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Somatic symptoms in consultation-liaison psychiatry.

Grover, Sandeep, Kate, Natasha·International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England)·2013

This review discusses how doctors who specialize in both medical and mental health (called consultation-liaison psychiatrists) can help patients with ME/CFS and similar conditions where physical symptoms don't have a clear medical explanation. The review explains that these patients often experience depression and anxiety alongside their physical symptoms, and they use healthcare services frequently. Treatment options include talking therapies, cognitive behavior therapy, and antidepressants, which work with varying degrees of success.

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearMechanistic

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells in the duodenum of individuals diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis are uniquely immunoreactive to antibodies to human endogenous retroviral proteins.

De Meirleir, Kenny L, Khaiboullina, Svetlana F, Frémont, Marc et al.·In vivo (Athens, Greece)·2013

Researchers found that a specific type of immune cell in the gut (called plasmacytoid dendritic cells) reacts to remnants of ancient viral DNA in 8 out of 12 ME/CFS patients, but not in healthy controls. These cells appear to be displaying signs of viral proteins on their surface, which suggests the gut may be involved in triggering immune problems seen in ME/CFS.

NeuroinflammationImmune System

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Caught in the thickness of brain fog: exploring the cognitive symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Ocon, Anthony J·Frontiers in physiology·2013

ME/CFS causes cognitive difficulties that patients often describe as "brain fog"—a feeling of foggy thinking, slow mental processing, and trouble concentrating. This review suggests brain fog may result from reduced blood flow to the brain combined with the physical stress of standing (which worsens symptoms in many patients), plus the extra mental effort required to complete tasks. Understanding these overlapping factors could help explain why cognitive symptoms feel so exhausting.

Autonomic Nervous SystemCognitive Impairment

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Clinical Practice: Chronic fatigue syndrome.

Werker, Charlotte L, Nijhof, Sanne L, van de Putte, Elise M·European journal of pediatrics·2013

This review explains how doctors diagnose ME/CFS in teenagers and describes what we know works to treat it. ME/CFS is a serious illness causing extreme fatigue that doesn't get better with rest, along with other symptoms like trouble thinking clearly, sore throat, and muscle pain. The good news is that a type of talking therapy called cognitive behavioural therapy helps about two-thirds of teenagers with ME/CFS feel better and stay better for years.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearMechanistic

Exercise and sleep deprivation do not change cytokine expression levels in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Nakamura, Toru, Schwander, Stephan, Donnelly, Robert et al.·Clinical and vaccine immunology : CVI·2013

Researchers tested whether exercise and sleep loss could trigger increased inflammatory markers in the blood of ME/CFS patients, since many people report that physical activity and poor sleep make their symptoms worse. They found that neither exercise nor sleep deprivation caused the expected increases in inflammatory proteins in people with ME/CFS compared to healthy controls. This suggests that immune activation from these stressors may not be the main reason symptoms worsen with exertion or sleep loss.

Immune SystemPost-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM requiredMethods-Paper

Case definitions and diagnostic criteria for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic fatigue Syndrome: from clinical-consensus to evidence-based case definitions.

Morris, Gerwyn, Maes, Michael·Neuro endocrinology letters·2013

Over the past 50+ years, doctors have created many different definitions and diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS, but these criteria were often based on expert opinion rather than scientific evidence. This paper examines why so many different definitions exist and argues that future diagnostic criteria should be built on objective test results (like blood work and brain imaging) rather than just symptoms alone, to better distinguish between ME and CFS as two related but separate conditions.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Energy Conservation/Envelope Theory Interventions to Help Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Jason, Leonard A, Brown, Molly, Brown, Abigail et al.·Fatigue : biomedicine, health & behavior·2013

This study reviewed research on the Energy Envelope approach, a self-management strategy that helps ME/CFS patients track and limit their daily activities to stay within their available energy level. Rather than pushing through exhaustion, patients learn to pace themselves carefully to avoid crashes. Research shows this approach can reduce symptom flare-ups and improve quality of life for people with ME/CFS.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Inflammatory and oxidative and nitrosative stress cascades as new drug targets in myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Maes, Michael·Modern trends in pharmacopsychiatry·2013

This study suggests that ME/CFS involves several overlapping biological problems: inflammation, oxidative stress (cellular damage), and activation of certain immune pathways. The researchers found that ME (characterized by post-exertional malaise) is more severe than CFS, and both conditions have higher levels of inflammatory markers than regular chronic fatigue. Understanding these biological mechanisms may help develop new targeted treatments.

Immune SystemPost-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Neurocognitive impairment in childhood chronic fatigue syndrome.

Mizuno, Kei, Watanabe, Yasuyoshi·Frontiers in physiology·2013

This study examined how ME/CFS affects thinking and attention skills in children and teenagers. Researchers found that young people with ME/CFS have difficulty with tasks that require switching between activities or paying attention to multiple things at once. The brain regions responsible for these skills are still developing during childhood, and severe fatigue may slow down or disrupt this normal development.

Cognitive Impairment

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Coenzyme Q10 depletion in medical and neuropsychiatric disorders: potential repercussions and therapeutic implications.

Morris, Gerwyn, Anderson, George, Berk, Michael et al.·Molecular neurobiology·2013

This review examines how a natural substance called Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) helps cells produce energy and protect themselves from damage. The authors found that low levels of CoQ10 may contribute to ME/CFS and similar conditions that cause fatigue and exhaustion. Studies suggest that taking CoQ10 supplements might help reduce fatigue and improve exercise tolerance in people with ME/CFS, similar to benefits seen in patients with Parkinson's disease and fibromyalgia.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearObservational

Targeting mitochondrial dysfunction in the treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) - a clinical audit.

Myhill, Sarah, Booth, Norman E, McLaren-Howard, John·International journal of clinical and experimental medicine·2013

This study looked at 138 ME/CFS patients and found that all of them had problems with their mitochondria—the parts of cells that produce energy. Patients received personalized treatment based on diet, sleep, supplements, and rest-activity balance, adjusted according to their specific mitochondrial problems. Those who followed the full treatment plan improved their mitochondrial function by about four times on average.

Sleep

E3 PreliminaryBehavioralPEM not requiredMechanistic

Anti depressant activity of Mamsyadi Kwatha: An Ayurvedic compound formulation.

Shreevathsa, M, Ravishankar, B, Dwivedi, Rambabu·Ayu·2013

Researchers tested an Ayurvedic herbal mixture called Mamsyadi Kwatha to see if it could help with depression and fatigue-like symptoms in mice. The mixture contains three plant ingredients and showed some ability to reduce signs of depression and fatigue in animal tests, suggesting it might have antidepressant properties.

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearMechanistic

Altered immune pathway activity under exercise challenge in Gulf War Illness: an exploratory analysis.

Broderick, Gordon, Ben-Hamo, Rotem, Vashishtha, Saurabh et al.·Brain, behavior, and immunity·2013

This study looked at how the immune systems of Gulf War veterans respond to exercise compared to healthy people and those with ME/CFS. Researchers drew blood before, during peak exercise, and 4 hours after exercise, then analyzed gene activity and immune markers. They found that Gulf War Illness involves an exaggerated immune and stress response to exercise, while ME/CFS showed the opposite pattern with a dampened immune response.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM requiredReview-Narrative

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and encephalomyelitis disseminata/multiple sclerosis show remarkable levels of similarity in phenomenology and neuroimmune characteristics.

Morris, Gerwyn, Maes, Michael·BMC medicine·2013

This review compares ME/CFS with multiple sclerosis (MS), another recognized neurological disease, and found striking similarities between them. Both conditions cause severe fatigue that worsens with exercise, autonomic problems (like dizziness and heart rate issues), and involve similar patterns of immune system activation and mitochondrial dysfunction (problems with how cells produce energy). The study suggests ME/CFS should be recognized as a genuine neuroimmune illness, similar to MS.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

[Fatigue syndromes--an overview of terminology, definitions and classificatory concepts].

Dörr, Johanna, Nater, Urs·Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, medizinische Psychologie·2013

This article reviews how doctors classify and differentiate between different fatigue conditions, including ME/CFS, burnout, and an older condition called neurasthenia. The authors found that while these conditions share some symptoms, they have important differences—but there currently isn't enough research to clearly separate them. Depression often occurs alongside ME/CFS and burnout, making diagnosis more complicated.

Diagnostics

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Psychological stress contributed to the development of low-grade fever in a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome: a case report.

A neuro-immune model of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic fatigue syndrome.

[Neurasthenia in Norway 1880-1920].

'The letting go, the building up, [and] the gradual process of rebuilding': identity change and post-traumatic growth in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Self-regulatory fatigue in chronic multisymptom illnesses: scale development, fatigue, and self-control.

Somatic symptoms in consultation-liaison psychiatry.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells in the duodenum of individuals diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis are uniquely immunoreactive to antibodies to human endogenous retroviral proteins.

Caught in the thickness of brain fog: exploring the cognitive symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Clinical Practice: Chronic fatigue syndrome.

Exercise and sleep deprivation do not change cytokine expression levels in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Case definitions and diagnostic criteria for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic fatigue Syndrome: from clinical-consensus to evidence-based case definitions.

Energy Conservation/Envelope Theory Interventions to Help Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Inflammatory and oxidative and nitrosative stress cascades as new drug targets in myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Neurocognitive impairment in childhood chronic fatigue syndrome.

Coenzyme Q10 depletion in medical and neuropsychiatric disorders: potential repercussions and therapeutic implications.

Targeting mitochondrial dysfunction in the treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) - a clinical audit.

Anti depressant activity of Mamsyadi Kwatha: An Ayurvedic compound formulation.

Altered immune pathway activity under exercise challenge in Gulf War Illness: an exploratory analysis.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and encephalomyelitis disseminata/multiple sclerosis show remarkable levels of similarity in phenomenology and neuroimmune characteristics.

[Fatigue syndromes--an overview of terminology, definitions and classificatory concepts].

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