Table 1.
Overview of microbial changes in patients with ME/CFS cases compared to healthy controls (HC) [modified after (33, 35)].
| Study | Subjects | Year | Country | Intestinal dysbiosis | Reduced microbiota | Enhanced microbiota | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2076 cases, 460,857 HC | 2023 | 11 countries | Yes | None | Anaerobic bacteria (e.g. Paraprevotella, Ruminococcaceae UCG_014) | He et al., 2023 (36), |
| 2 | 35 cases, 70 HC (Fukuda Criteria) | 2021 | Italy | Yes | Firmicutes | Bacteroidetes | Lupo et al., 2021 (13), |
| 3 | 48 cases, 52 HC (Fukuda und International Consensus Criteria) | 2020 | Japan | Yes | None | Blautia, Coprobacillus, Eggerthella | Kitami et al., 2020 (37), |
| 4 | 17 cases und 17 HC (Fukuda Criteria) | 2018 | USA | No | None | None | Mandarano et al., 2018 (38), |
| 5 | 50 cases, 50 HC (Fukuda, Canadian Criteria) | 2017 | USA | Yes | Faecalibacterium (with IBS), Bacteroides vulgatus (without IBS) | Alistipes (with IBS), Bacteroides (without IBS) | Nagy-Szakal et al.2017 (34), |
| 6 | 48 cases, 39 HC (Fukuda Criteria) | 2016 | USA | Yes | Firmicutes (n.s.), anti-inflammatory species (n.s.) | Pro-inflammatory species, Proteaobacteria (e.g. Enterobacteriaceae) | Giloteaux et al., 2016 (39), |
| 7 | 1 case, 1 HC (34-year-old monozytogenic male twins) (Fukuda Criteria) | 2016 | USA | Yes | Faecalibacterium, Bifidobacterium | None | Giloteaux et al., 2016 (40), |
| 8 | 34 cases and 25 HC (Canadian Criteria) | 2016 | Australia | Yes | Anaerobic bacteria, Bacteroides spp. | Aerobic bacteria (n.s.), Clostridium spp. | Armstrong et al., 2016 (41), |
| 9 | 10 cases, 10 HC (Fukuda criteria) | 2015 | Italy | Yes | Actinobacteria; Firmicutes (n.s.) | Bacteroidetes (n.s.) | Shukla et al., 2015 (42), |
| 10 | 35 cases, 36 HC (Fukuda criteria) | 2013 | Belgium | Yes | Firmicutes | Bacteroidetes (e.g. Alistipes) | Frémont et al., 2013 (43), |
| 11 | 108 cases and 177 HC (Holmes, Fukuda and Canadian criteria) | 2009 | Australia | Yes | E. coli, Gram-positive/Gram-negative bacteria ratio | Aerobic bacteria, D-lactic acid producing: E. faecalis, S. sanguinis | Sheddy et al., 2009 (44), |
IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, n.s., non significant.