Simeonova, Denitsa, Ivanovska, Mariya, Murdjeva, Mariana et al. · Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2018 · DOI
This review examines how a condition called 'leaky gut'—where the intestinal barrier becomes too permeable, allowing harmful bacteria to enter the bloodstream—may contribute to ME/CFS and other conditions affecting mood and energy. The authors summarize available blood and stool tests that can help doctors recognize leaky gut in practice. They identify specific markers (like immune responses to bacterial toxins and inflammatory proteins) that could signal intestinal barrier problems.
ME/CFS patients often experience gastrointestinal dysfunction and may benefit from screening for intestinal permeability, a proposed pathogenic mechanism in the illness. This review consolidates actionable biomarkers and testing strategies that could guide personalized clinical evaluation and identify potential therapeutic targets. Understanding gut barrier integrity may help explain neuroimmune symptoms and guide symptom management in ME/CFS.
This review does not establish that leaky gut causes ME/CFS or prove that treating leaky gut will resolve ME/CFS symptoms. It does not provide prevalence data for intestinal permeability in ME/CFS patients or demonstrate that specific biomarkers have clinical utility in predicting outcomes. The review is descriptive rather than experimental, so it cannot establish causal relationships.
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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