Buskila, D, Press, J · Best practice & research. Clinical rheumatology · 2001 · DOI
This review examines why fibromyalgia and ME/CFS cause such similar symptoms like fatigue, pain, and problems with the nervous system. Researchers found that both conditions involve problems with hormones, how the body processes pain, and how the autonomic nervous system (which controls automatic body functions) works. The study suggests these conditions may share the same underlying cause: dysfunction in the central nervous system.
This study helps explain why ME/CFS and fibromyalgia patients experience overlapping symptoms and suggests they may share common biological mechanisms. Understanding these shared pathways is critical for developing targeted treatments and validating ME/CFS as a neurobiological disorder rather than a psychiatric condition.
This review does not prove causation—it synthesizes existing evidence showing associations between nervous system dysfunction and symptoms. It does not establish whether neuroendocrine abnormalities are primary causes or secondary consequences of these conditions. The review cannot prove that all fibromyalgia and ME/CFS cases share identical mechanisms.
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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