Naloxone-reversible monocyte dysfunction in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Prieto, J, Subirá, M L, Castilla, A et al.·Scandinavian journal of immunology·1989
Researchers examined immune cells called monocytes in 35 ME/CFS patients and 25 healthy people. They found that most ME/CFS patients had monocytes that weren't working properly, but these cells improved dramatically when treated with naloxone, a drug that blocks opioid effects. This suggests that the body's natural opioid-like chemicals may be overactive in ME/CFS and could be damaging immune function.