Bennett, A L, Mayes, D M, Fagioli, L R et al. · Journal of psychiatric research · 1997 · DOI
Researchers measured levels of somatomedin C (a growth-related hormone) in 49 ME/CFS patients and compared them to 30 healthy people. They found that ME/CFS patients had higher levels of this hormone than healthy controls. This is interesting because a similar condition called fibromyalgia shows the opposite pattern—lower levels of this hormone.
This study provides evidence that ME/CFS may involve distinct hormonal abnormalities compared to clinically similar conditions like fibromyalgia, potentially pointing toward different underlying biological mechanisms. Understanding these neuroendocrine differences could help researchers develop targeted treatments and improve diagnostic differentiation between overlapping syndromes.
This study does not prove that elevated somatomedin C causes ME/CFS symptoms or that it is a diagnostic marker. The cross-sectional design cannot establish whether hormone changes occur before symptom onset or are a consequence of the illness. Elevated levels in patients do not necessarily indicate a treatable target.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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