From:  An integrative review on the orexin system and hypothalamic dysfunction in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: implications for precision medicine

 Quantitative summary of key biomarker metrics in ME/CFS

StudyParameterME/CFS mean ± SDControl mean ± SDp-valueSample size (ME/CFS vs. control)
Papadopoulos and Cleare [41]Salivary cortisol AUCg (nmol/L·h)92.2 ± 33.2125.5 ± 40.6< 0.0517/34
Myhill et al. [47]CSF orexin-A (pg/mL)200 ± 50240 ± 60NS20/20
Shan et al. [37]DTI FA in inferior frontoparietal fasciculus0.42 ± 0.050.49 ± 0.04< 0.0115/15
Finkelmeyer et al. [38]Prefrontal gray-matter volume (mL)580 ± 45620 ± 50< 0.0530/30
Milrad et al. [50]Plasma IL-6 (pg/mL)3.5 ± 1.21.8 ± 0.9< 0.0125/25

Data are presented as mean ± SD. AUCg: area under the curve with respect to ground; CSF: cerebrospinal fluid; DTI: diffusion tensor imaging; FA: fractional anisotropy; IL-6: interleukin-6; ME/CFS: myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome; SD: standard deviation. NS: not statistically significant (p ≥ 0.05); sample sizes reported as ME/CFS vs. control. Units are specified in column headers (SI units)