Schwartz, R B, Komaroff, A L, Garada, B M et al. · AJR. American journal of roentgenology · 1994 · DOI
Researchers used a type of brain imaging called SPECT scans to compare brain blood flow patterns in people with ME/CFS, AIDS-related dementia, depression, and healthy people. People with ME/CFS and AIDS dementia showed similar patterns of reduced blood flow in certain brain areas, while people with depression showed different patterns. These findings suggest ME/CFS may involve brain inflammation similar to a chronic viral infection rather than being purely psychological.
This study provides objective neuroimaging evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable brain abnormalities distinct from depression, supporting the biological rather than purely psychiatric nature of the illness. The similarity between ME/CFS and AIDS dementia patterns lends credibility to the hypothesis that ME/CFS may involve chronic viral effects on the brain, potentially opening research directions into infectious mechanisms.
This study does not prove that a virus causes ME/CFS—it only shows similar imaging patterns to AIDS dementia and differs from depression. SPECT findings are correlational and cannot establish causation. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether brain abnormalities precede illness onset, develop as a consequence of chronic illness, or fluctuate with disease activity. A single imaging snapshot does not address whether these patterns are reversible or progressive.
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 →