Chronic Infections and Inflammation in ME/CFS: An Observational Study (CHIIME)

March 4, 2026 updated by: University of California, San Francisco
CHIIME is a study of people who have myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). People who do not have this condition will also be enrolled. Volunteers will be observed and sampled over time to identify the long-terms biological drivers and impact of their condition. The overall goal is to understand the biological and physiological mechanisms that are driving this condition.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Detailed Description

CHIIME is an observational, prospective study of individuals who have myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The overall objective of the study is to investigate the clinical characteristics and biological signatures of ME/CFS over time by performing deep clinical phenotyping with high-quality biospecimen collection and curation of individuals with and without the condition.

Enrolled volunteers will be seen at San Francisco General Hospital. Visits include a detailed interview, biospecimen collection, and various assessments. No personal identifiers are used for specimen bank samples.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
200

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Beatrice Program Manager
  • Phone Number: (415) 502-2449
  • Email: chiime@ucsf.edu

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94110
        • Recruiting
        • Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The investigators will enroll individuals with a diagnosis of ME/CFS across a wide spectrum of age, race, gender, and disease severity and will also enroll a subset of people without ME/CFS or other infection associated chronic conditions (healthy control)

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Willing and able to provide written informed consent
  • At least 18 years of age
  • Either: (1) a reported diagnosis of ME/CFS or (2) no history of ME/CFS or other infection-associated chronic conditions (healthy control)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Self reported or documented chronic anemia with hemoglobin <9 g/dL
  • Known HIV, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C infection
  • Diagnosis of an infection-associated chronic condition other than ME/CFS or Long COVID (e.g. chronic Lyme disease, post-Ebola syndrome, etc.)
  • Serious medical or psychiatric illness that, in the opinion of the site investigator, would interfere with the ability to adhere to study requirements or to give informed consent
  • Active drug or alcohol use or dependence that, in the opinion of the PI, would interfere with adherence to study requirements or to give informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Non-COVID ME/CFS
Individuals who received a diagnosis of ME/CFS prior to the beginning of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and whom SARS-CoV-2 was not expected to be the driver of ME/CFS
Post-COVID ME/CFS
Individuals who received a diagnosis of ME/CFS following the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and in who SARS-CoV-2 was expected to be the driver of ME/CFS
Healthy control
Individuals who have overlapping demographic characteristics (age, sex, race, and other factors determined by PI) with participants who have ME/CFS

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Participant Sex
Time Frame: Baseline Visit
The proportion of men and women participating in the baseline visit.
Baseline Visit
Participant Age
Time Frame: Baseline Visit
The median age of study participants at enrollment.
Baseline Visit
Participant race/ethnicity
Time Frame: Baseline Visit
The proportion of participants from each demographic group.
Baseline Visit

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, San Francisco

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Michael J. Peluso, University of California, San Francisco

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 1, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 10, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 10, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 12, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 4, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 24-43260

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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