Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38605969›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in immunology2024

The gastrointestinal microbiota in the development of ME/CFS: a critical view and potential perspectives.

Andreas Stallmach, Stefanie Quickert, Christian Puta, Philipp A Reuken

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in immunology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
8.5field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  11. Anti-fatigue mechanism ofFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Andreas StallmachDepartment of Internal Medicine IV (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectious Diseases), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Stefanie QuickertDepartment of Internal Medicine IV (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectious Diseases), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Christian PutaDepartment of Sports Medicine and Health Promotion, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany.
Philipp A ReukenDepartment of Internal Medicine IV (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectious Diseases), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Jena University Hospital · DEFriedrich Schiller University Jena · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Like other infections, a SARS-CoV-2 infection can also trigger Post-Acute Infection Syndromes (PAIS), which often progress into myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). ME/CFS, characterized by post-exercise malaise (PEM), is a severe multisystemic disease for which specific diagnostic markers or therapeutic concepts have not been established. Despite numerous indications of post-infectious neurological, immunological, endocrinal, and metabolic deviations, the exact causes and pathophysiology remain unclear. To date, there is a paucity of data, that changes in the composition and function of the gastrointestinal microbiota have emerged as a potential influencing variable associated with immunological and inflammatory pathways, shifts in ME/CFS. It is postulated that this dysbiosis may lead to intestinal barrier dysfunction, translocation of microbial components with increased oxidative stress, and the development or progression of ME/CFS. In this review, we detailed discuss the findings regarding alterations in the gastrointestinal microbiota and its microbial mediators in ME/CFS. When viewed critically, there is currently no evidence indicating causality between changes in the microbiota and the development of ME/CFS. Most studies describe associations within poorly defined patient populations, often combining various clinical presentations, such as irritable bowel syndrome and fatigue associated with ME/CFS. Nevertheless, drawing on analogies with other gastrointestinal diseases, there is potential to develop strategies aimed at modulating the gut microbiota and/or its metabolites as potential treatments for ME/CFS and other PAIS. These strategies should be further investigated in clinical trials.

Indexed as

Fatigue Syndrome, ChronicGastrointestinal DiseasesGastrointestinal MicrobiomeDysbiosisHumansOxidative StressfatigueFMTgastrointestinal microbiomeME/CFSpost-COVID

Identifiers

PMID38605969
PMCPMC11007072
OpenAlexW4393276290

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.