Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc in News Medical Life Sciences.

One of the major symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is post-exertional malaise (PEM), the worsening of symptoms after physical or mental activities.

Using their own words and experiences, people with ME/CFS described how debilitating PEM can be in a study in Frontiers in Neurology. This is the first publication to come out of the National Institutes of Health’s intramural post-infectious ME/CFS study.

Post-exertional malaise following normal activities is unique to ME/CFS and we do not understand the biology underlying this severe and harmful feature of the disease. In-depth conversations with people who experienced post-exertional malaise and listening to them describe their individual experiences can provide a perspective not achieved through surveys. This study provides a window into just how much post-exertional malaise can affect a person’s quality of life.”

Walter Koroshetz, M.D., Director, NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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Link to ME Research story