Bourke, Julius H, Wodehouse, Theresa, Clark, Lucy V et al. · Journal of psychosomatic research · 2021 · DOI
This study tested whether ME/CFS and fibromyalgia involve a condition called 'central sensitisation,' where the nervous system becomes overly sensitive to pain signals. Researchers compared pain sensitivity in 19 ME/CFS patients, 19 fibromyalgia patients, and 20 healthy people using physical tests. They found that 84% of ME/CFS patients and 95% of fibromyalgia patients showed signs of central sensitisation, while none of the healthy controls did.
This study provides objective biological evidence that ME/CFS and fibromyalgia may share a common underlying mechanism—central sensitisation—rather than being purely psychological conditions. Understanding this shared pathophysiology could help researchers develop targeted treatments and validate ME/CFS as a medical condition with measurable physiological changes.
This study does not prove that central sensitisation causes ME/CFS or fibromyalgia—it only shows an association. It does not clarify whether central sensitisation develops as a result of the illness, precedes it, or is a consequence of symptom-related changes in behaviour or activity. The small sample size and recruitment from secondary care clinics may not represent all ME/CFS patients.
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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