ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2010
A formal analysis of cytokine networks in chronic fatigue syndrome.
Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 117 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
117 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 208 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of viral infection as an etiology of ME/CFS: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Pooled it
- A systematic review of natural killer cells profile and cytotoxic function in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.Systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- A systematic review of cytokines in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis/systemic exertion intolerance disease (CFS/ME/SEID).BMC neurology · 2019Pooled it
- Trial
- Effectiveness of nasal irrigation for chronic rhinosinusitis and fatigue in patients with Gulf War illness: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Contemporary clinical trials · 2015Trial
- A comparison of sex-specific immune signatures in Gulf War illness and chronic fatigue syndrome.BMC immunology · 2013Trial
- Trial
- Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): A Review of Recent Evidence and Future Research Directions Toward the Elucidation of a Metabolic, Immunologic, and Signaling Cascade.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Insights into the Complex Biological Network Underlying Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Network-level organization of systemic inflammation reflects early Alzheimer's-like behavioral changes.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Network-Level Organization of Systemic Inflammation Reflects Early Alzheimer's-Like Behavioral Changes.Research square · 2025Article
- Reframing Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): Biological Basis of Disease and Recommendations for Supporting Patients.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Predisposing and Precipitating Factors in Epstein-Barr Virus-Caused Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- The search for a blood-based biomarker for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): from biochemistry to electrophysiology.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Review
- Leveraging dynamic stability to infer regulation in protein-protein interaction networks: A study of infectious vulnerability in COPD.PloS one · 2025Article
- A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Article
- Identification of CD8 T-cell dysfunction associated with symptoms in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID and treatment with a nebulized antioxidant/anti-pathogen agent in a retrospective case series.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: the biology of a neglected disease.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Epstein-Barr virus-acquired immunodeficiency in myalgic encephalomyelitis-Is it present in long COVID?Journal of translational medicine · 2023Review
- Cytokine network analysis in a community-based pediatric sample of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.Chronic illness · 2023Article
57 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a complex illness affecting 4 million Americans for which no characteristic lesion has been identified. Instead of searching for a deficiency in any single marker, we propose that CFS is associated with a profound imbalance in the regulation of immune function forcing a departure from standard pre-programmed responses. To identify these imbalances we apply network analysis to the co-expression of 16 cytokines in CFS subjects and healthy controls. Concentrations of IL-1a, 1b, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17 and 23, IFN-γ, lymphotoxin-α (LT-α) and TNF-α were measured in the plasma of 40 female CFS and 59 case-matched controls. Cytokine co-expression networks were constructed from the pair-wise mutual information (MI) patterns found within each subject group. These networks differed in topology significantly more than expected by chance with the CFS network being more hub-like in design. Analysis of local modularity isolated statistically distinct cytokine communities recognizable as pre-programmed immune functional components. These showed highly attenuated Th1 and Th17 immune responses in CFS. High Th2 marker expression but weak interaction patterns pointed to an established Th2 inflammatory milieu. Similarly, altered associations in CFS provided indirect evidence of diminished NK cell responsiveness to IL-12 and LT-α stimulus. These observations are consistent with several processes active in latent viral infection and would not have been uncovered by assessing marker expression alone. Furthermore this analysis identifies key sub-networks such as IL-2:IFN-γ:TNF-α that might be targeted in restoring normal immune function.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.