Cvejic, Erin, Lloyd, Andrew R, Vollmer-Conna, Uté · Comprehensive psychiatry · 2016 · DOI
This study tested whether a 12-week program combining graded activity and cognitive training could help ME/CFS patients with thinking and memory problems. Researchers measured improvements in two ways: by asking patients how they felt, and by giving them objective tests of mental performance. They found that patients showed real, measurable improvements in processing speed and accuracy on cognitive tests, and their stress response (measured by heart rate patterns) also improved.
This is the first study to demonstrate objective, measurable improvements in thinking and memory function in ME/CFS patients receiving cognitive-behavioral and graded exercise therapy, moving beyond subjective self-report. The findings also show associated changes in a biomarker (autonomic reactivity), which provides physiological support for the efficacy of these interventions and strengthens evidence that cognitive symptoms in ME/CFS may be partially reversible.
This small preliminary study (n=25) does not prove these interventions work for all ME/CFS patients, nor does it establish which components (cognitive training vs. graded activity) drove improvements. The lack of correlation between subjective and objective improvements raises questions about whether patients accurately perceive their own cognitive changes, but does not clarify the mechanism. A controlled trial is needed before firm treatment recommendations can be made.
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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