Roerink, M E, van der Schaaf, M E, Hawinkels, L J A C et al. · The Netherlands journal of medicine · 2018
This study measured a protein called TGF-β1 in the blood of ME/CFS patients compared to healthy people. Previous research suggested this protein was elevated in ME/CFS, but the researchers found that how blood samples are processed in the lab—specifically how fast they spin them—dramatically affects the results. When they carefully controlled this process, they found no actual difference in TGF-β1 levels between patients and healthy controls.
This study is important because it challenges a previously reported biomarker finding in ME/CFS and demonstrates how technical laboratory factors can create false positive results. For patients and researchers, it underscores the need for rigorous standardization in biological studies of ME/CFS—ensuring that apparent disease findings are genuine rather than artifacts of measurement procedures.
This study does not prove that TGF-β1 is never abnormal in ME/CFS—only that careful measurement under these specific conditions found no difference. It also does not address whether other cytokines or biomarkers may still be abnormal in ME/CFS. The study examined only female patients, so findings may not generalize to male 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 →
Spotted an error in this entry? Report it →