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Query: UMLS:C0015674 (chronic fatigue syndrome)
 2,978 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a baffling disease potentially affecting millions of Americans. Self-rating scales were developed to assess this condition but have yet to be validated with objective measures of activity. The present study of a 45-yr.-old man evaluated the relationships between scores on self-rating scales used to measure Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and actigraphy. Measured activity was related to predictors of fatigue but not to fatigue. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Psychol Rep 1997 Dec
PMID:Chronic fatigue syndrome: relationships of self-ratings and actigraphy. 946 55

In spite of its nature as an often severe and disabeling disease, it is still unclear, whether the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is an entire disease of its own right or not. Moreover, there is a growing evidence that patients with CFS belong to an inhomogeneous group with different etiologic constellations. Specific somatic factors, e.g. viruses, seem to be less important for onset than certain personality-traits like depressiveness and workaholism. These traits lead to an increased vulnerability to unspecific psychological or biological stressors that may cause chronic fatigue by complex psychosomatic interferences. Concerning diagnosis, there are no specific methods or results available, the same is true for pharmacological treatment. As a consequence, practitioners should be aware not to miss a somatic disease causing fatigue, and, parallel to this, start right from the beginning talking about the psychosomatic background of CFS. Furthermore, psychotherapy has shown to be effective in CFS.
Z Arztl Fortbild Qualitatssich 1997 Dec
PMID:[Chronic fatigue syndrome--a disease entity or an unspecified psychosomatic disorder?]. 948 22

97 patients (25 per cent males, ages ranging from 14 to 73 years, median 38 years) with complaints of chronic fatigue (chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or/and spasmophilia) have been enrolled in a prospective study to evaluate the Mg status and the dietary intake of Mg. An IV loading test (performed following the Ryzen protocol) showed a Mg deficit in 44 patients. After Mg supplementation in 24 patients, the loading test showed a significant decrease (p = 0.0018) in Mg retention. Mean values of serum Mg, red blood cell Mg and magnesuria showed no significant difference between patients with or without Mg deficiency. No association was found between Mg deficiency, CFS or FM. However serum Mg level was significantly lower in the patients with spasmophilia than in the other patients.
Magnes Res 1997 Dec
PMID:Magnesium deficit in a sample of the Belgian population presenting with chronic fatigue. 951 29

The aim of this study was to identify factors other than objective sleep tendency associated with scores on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). There were 225 subjects, of whom 40% had obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), 16% had simple snoring, and 4.9% had snoring with sleep disruption (upper airway resistance syndrome); 9.3% had narcolepsy and 7.5% had hypersomnolence without REM sleep abnormalities; 12% had chronic fatigue syndrome; 7.5% had periodic limb movement disorder and 3% had diurnal rhythm disorders. ESS, the results of overnight polysomnography and multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) and SCL-90 as a measure of psychological symptoms were recorded. The ESS score and the mean sleep latency (MSL) were correlated (Spearman rho = -0.30, P < 0.0001). The MSL was correlated with total sleep time (TST) and with sleep efficiency but not with apnoea/hypopnoea index. There was no association between the MSL and any aspect of SCL-90 scores, except a borderline significant association with the somatisation subscale. The ESS was correlated with TST but not with sleep efficiency or apnoea/hypopnoea index. The ESS was correlated with all subscales of the SCL-90 except psychoticism. An ESS > or = 10 had poor sensitivity and specificity as a predictor of MSL < 10 min or MSL < 5 min. We conclude that the MSLT and the ESS are not interchangeable. The ESS was influenced by psychological factors by which the MSL was not affected. The ESS cannot be used to demonstrate or exclude sleepiness as it is measured by MSLT.
J Sleep Res 1998 Dec
PMID:Correlations among Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores, multiple sleep latency tests and psychological symptoms. 984 51

The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is unknown. With respect to factors perpetuating fatigue, on the other hand, a model has been postulated in the literature in which behavioral, cognitive, and affective factors play a role in perpetuating fatigue. In the present study, this hypothesized model was tested on patients with CFS and on fatigued patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The model was formulated in terms of cause-and-effect relationships and an integral test of this model was performed by the statistical technique, "structural equation modeling," in 51 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and 50 patients with multiple sclerosis matched for age, gender, and education. Attributing complaints to a somatic cause produced low levels of physical activity, which in turn had a causal effect on fatigue severity. Depression had to be deleted from the model. Sense of control over symptoms and focusing on bodily symptoms each had a direct causal effect on fatigue. The model showed an excellent fit for CFS patients, but was rejected for MS patients. Therefore, a new model for MS patients had to be developed in which sense of control had a causal effect on fatigue. In the MS model, no causal relationship was found between the physical state as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Score (EDSS) and fatigue or functional impairment. The present study shows that cognitive and behavioral factors are involved in the persistence of fatigue. Treatment should be directed at these factors. The processes involved in the subjective experience of fatigue in CFS were different from the processes related to fatigue in MS.
J Psychosom Res 1998 Dec
PMID:The persistence of fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple sclerosis: development of a model. 985 53

Mycoplasma fermentans and other Mycoplasma species are colonizers of human mucosal surfaces and may be associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection. While many infectious agents have been described in different percentages of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), little is known about the prevalence of mycoplasmas and especially M. fermentans in CFS patients. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay was used to detect Mycoplasma genus and M. fermentans genomes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of CFS patients. Blood was collected from 100 patients with CFS and 50 control subjects. The amplified products of 717 bp of Mycoplasma genus, and 206 bp of M. fermentans were detected in DNA purified from blood samples in 52% and 34% of CFS samples, respectively. In contrast, these genomes were found in only 14% and 8% of healthy control subjects respectively (P < 0.0001). All samples were confirmed by Southern blot with a specific probe based on internal sequences of the expected amplification product. Several samples, which were positive for Mycoplasma genus, were negative for M. fermentans indicating that other Mycoplasma species are involved. A quantitative PCR was developed to determine the number of M. fermentans genome copies present in 1 microg of DNA for controls and CFS patients. Mycoplasma copy numbers ranging from 130 to 880 and from 264 to 2400 were detected in controls and CFS positive subjects, respectively. An enzyme immunoassay was applied for the detection of antibodies against p29 surface lipoprotein of M. fermentans to determine the relationship between M. fermentans genome copy numbers and antibody levels. Individuals with high genome copy numbers exhibited higher IgG and IgM antibodies against M. fermentans specific peptides. Isolation of this organism by culture from clinical specimens is needed in order to demonstrate specificity of signal detected by PCR in this study.
FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol 1998 Dec
PMID:Detection of Mycoplasma genus and Mycoplasma fermentans by PCR in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 987 28

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is an illness that is characterized by debilitating fatigue and a group of other related symptoms. Few epidemiological studies have been conducted, and none have focused on a nursing population. The present study is the first to assess the prevalence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-related symptoms in a sample of nurses. Demographic characteristics, symptoms, and possible prevalence rates are presented and discussed. When using both narrow and more inclusive criteria to define this symptom complex, higher rates of this disorder were found than in previous epidemiological studies. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Eval Health Prof 1993 Dec
PMID:Prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome-related symptoms among nurses. 1013 May 52

Low blood pressure is a frequently encountered phenomenon in clinical practice. Few practitioners in the Western world however regard chronic low blood pressure as a genuinely pathological disease state. Evidence is emerging that chronic hypotension is associated with considerable morbidity in the community. It has recently been implicated as the causative mechanism in patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome. Identification of low blood pressure can prove probjlematic, so ambulatory blood pressure monitoring may prove a more reliable method both for determining mean blood pressure levels and for identifying episodes of marked hypotension. Low blood pressure is broadly divided into two categories, chronic constitutional hypotension and hypotension associated with abnormal postural control. The causes are examined and the clinical presentations are discussed. An approach to investigation and diagnosis is outlined, and current options regarding treatment and management are described. The clinical spectrum of low blood pressure is wide. From young patients with vagally mediated syncope or patients with iatrogenic hypotension to elderly patients with autonomic degenerative conditions, there exists a substantial body of patients with potentially avoidable or treatable morbidity. Such a group requires more rigorous scientific investigation and a more sympathetic clinical approach.
Blood Press Monit 1997 Dec
PMID:Hypotension: a forgotten illness?. 1023 84

Presence of MRI brain abnormalities in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) was determined and the profile of MRI abnormalities was compared between 39 CFS patients, 18 with (CFS-Psych) and 21 without (CFS-No Psych) a DSM-III-R Axis I psychiatric diagnosis since illness onset, and 19 healthy, sedentary controls (HC). Two neuroradiologists, blind to group membership, separately read the MR films using a detailed protocol for rating and categorizing abnormal signal changes. When findings were incongruent, the two neuroradiologists met to try to reach consensus, otherwise a third neuroradiologist evaluated the MR images and served as a tie-breaker. The CFS-No Psych group showed a significantly larger number of brain abnormalities on T2 weighted images than the CFS-Psych and HC groups. Cerebral changes in the CFS-No Psych group consisted mostly of small, punctate, subcortical white matter hyperintensities, found predominantly in the frontal lobes. No significant difference was found when both CFS groups were combined and compared to the HC group. The use of stratification techniques is an important strategy in understanding the pathophysiology of CFS. This frontal lobe pathology could explain the more severe cognitive impairment previously reported in this subset of CFS patients.
J Neurol Sci 1999 Dec 01
PMID:Brain MRI abnormalities exist in a subset of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. 1056 41

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is characterized by debilitating symptoms including persistent or relapsing fatigue. As a result of CFS, some individuals experience significant stigma that is attached to this illness. Many medical professionals are skeptical of the validity of the illness, and employers often fail to appreciate the seriousness of the symptoms. Although negative attitudes greatly affect the lives of individuals with CFS, there is presently no measurement of attitudes toward this illness and people who have CFS. The purpose of the present studies was to create a scale that measures attitudes toward individuals with CFS--the Chronic Fatigue Attitudes Test (CAT)--and to assess the scale's reliability and validity. The 13-item scale was created using several constructs outlined in the literature regarding negative attitudes toward people with CFS, disabilities, and AIDS. Theoretical implications of the findings and the utility of the CAT are discussed.
Eval Health Prof 1999 Dec
PMID:The development of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Attitudes Test. A psychometric analysis. 1062


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