Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30594919›Full record

ArticleClinical hemorheology and microcirculation2019

Red blood cell deformability is diminished in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Amit K Saha, Brendan R Schmidt, Julie Wilhelmy, Vy Nguyen, Abed Abugherir, Justin K Do, Mohsen Nemat-Gorgani, Ronald W Davis, Anand K Ramasubramanian

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical hemorheology and microcirculation, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025
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  6. Oxidative stress is a shared characteristic of ME/CFS and Long COVID.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Amit K SahaDepartment of Chemical and Materials Engineering, San José State University, San José, CA, USA.
Brendan R SchmidtDepartment of Chemical and Materials Engineering, San José State University, San José, CA, USA.
Julie WilhelmyStanford Genome Technology Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Vy NguyenDepartment of Chemical and Materials Engineering, San José State University, San José, CA, USA.
Abed AbugherirDepartment of Chemical and Materials Engineering, San José State University, San José, CA, USA.
Justin K DoDepartment of Chemical and Materials Engineering, San José State University, San José, CA, USA.
Mohsen Nemat-GorganiStanford Genome Technology Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Ronald W DavisStanford Genome Technology Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Anand K RamasubramanianDepartment of Chemical and Materials Engineering, San José State University, San José, CA, USA.
San Jose State University · USStanford University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMyalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a poorly understood disease. Amongst others symptoms, the disease is associated with profound fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, sleep abnormalities, and other symptoms that are made worse by physical or mental exertion. While the etiology of the disease is still debated, evidence suggests oxidative damage to immune and hematological systems as one of the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease. Since red blood cells (RBCs) are well-known scavengers of oxidative stress, and are critical in microvascular perfusion and tissue oxygenation, we hypothesized that RBC deformability is adversely affected in ME/CFS.

methodsWe used a custom microfluidic platform and high-speed microscopy to assess the difference in deformability of RBCs obtained from ME/CFS patients and age-matched healthy controls. RESULTS AND

conclusionWe observed from various measures of deformability that the RBCs isolated from ME/CFS patients were significantly stiffer than those from healthy controls. Our observations suggest that RBC transport through microcapillaries may explain, at least in part, the ME/CFS phenotype, and promises to be a novel first-pass diagnostic test.

Indexed as

Erythrocyte DeformabilityErythrocytesFatigue Syndrome, ChronicFemaleHumansMaleMicrofluidicscell deformabilityChronic Fatigue Syndromemicrofluidicsred blood cells

Identifiers

PMID30594919
PMCPMC6398549
OpenAlexW2908246192

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.