Evidence browser

Memory, attention, and executive function in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Joyce, E, Blumenthal, S, Wessely, S·Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·1996

This study compared the thinking abilities of 20 people with ME/CFS to 20 healthy controls using computerized tests and word tasks. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients had difficulty with memory tasks that required effort and attention, especially when they had to actively retrieve or organize information themselves. However, their problems were different from those seen in dementia or stroke-related memory loss, and they performed normally on simpler memory tests.

The localization of pain in chronic fatigue syndrome on a pain drawing according to grid areas.

Líndal, E, Bergmann, S, Thorlacius, S et al.·Perceptual and motor skills·1996

This study looked at where people with ME/CFS experience pain by having them mark painful areas on a body diagram divided into sections. The researchers wanted to understand the pattern of pain locations across different body regions in ME/CFS patients. This type of mapping can help doctors better understand how pain is distributed in the condition.

Pain and Sensitization

Behavioural effects of infectious mononucleosis.

Hall, S R, Smith, A P·Neuropsychobiology·1996

This study looked at how infectious mononucleosis (IM) affects the brain and behavior in both the short and long term. Researchers tested memory, attention, coordination, and mood in people with acute IM, people who had recovered months earlier, and healthy controls. They found that acute IM caused similar brain and behavior problems to the flu, while people recovering from IM months later showed patterns similar to those seen in chronic fatigue syndrome patients.

A comparison of the characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome in primary and tertiary care.

Euba, R, Chalder, T, Deale, A et al.·The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science·1996

This study compared ME/CFS patients seen in general doctor's offices with those referred to a specialist clinic. Patients at the specialist clinic had more severe fatigue and physical symptoms, and were more functionally disabled, but were often wealthier and more likely to believe their illness had a physical cause. Interestingly, nearly half of those referred to the specialist clinic didn't actually meet the official criteria for ME/CFS.

The influence of age on transfer factor treatment of cellular immunodeficiency, chronic fatigue syndrome and/or chronic viral infections.

Hana, I, Vrubel, J, Pekarek, J et al.·Biotherapy (Dordrecht, Netherlands)·1996

This study looked at 222 patients with weak immune systems, many of whom also had ME/CFS and/or chronic viral infections (EBV or CMV). They were treated with transfer factor, a type of immune-boosting therapy, given as injections over 8 weeks. The researchers found that younger patients improved more often than older patients, with failure rates rising significantly in those over 54 years old.

Selective impairment of auditory processing in chronic fatigue syndrome: a comparison with multiple sclerosis and healthy controls.

Johnson, S K, DeLuca, J, Diamond, B J et al.·Perceptual and motor skills·1996

This study tested whether people with ME/CFS have trouble processing sounds specifically, or if they struggle with processing information in general. Researchers compared people with ME/CFS, people with multiple sclerosis, and healthy people on two similar tasks—one using sounds and one using visuals. People with ME/CFS performed worse on the sound-based task but did better on the visual task, suggesting their brains may have particular difficulty processing auditory information.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCase-Control

Health status in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and in general population and disease comparison groups.

Komaroff, A L, Fagioli, L R, Doolittle, T H et al.·The American journal of medicine·1996

This study measured how much ME/CFS affects people's daily lives and well-being compared to people without the illness and people with other serious conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and depression. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS had much greater difficulty with physical and mental activities than the general population and most other disease groups—similar in severity only to depression, though in different ways.

Chronic fatigue and minor psychiatric morbidity after viral meningitis: a controlled study.

Hotopf, M, Noah, N, Wessely, S·Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·1996

Researchers followed 83 patients who had viral meningitis and compared them to 76 people who had other viral infections. They found that about 12.6% of all participants developed chronic fatigue after their illness—higher than expected. Interestingly, having meningitis specifically was not a stronger risk factor than other viral infections; instead, people who took longer to recover and those with a history of psychiatric illness were more likely to develop chronic fatigue.

Lymphocyte subsets, apoptosis, and cytokines in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Swanink, C M, Vercoulen, J H, Galama, J M et al.·The Journal of infectious diseases·1996

This study compared immune system markers in blood samples from 76 ME/CFS patients and 69 healthy controls to see if immune abnormalities could explain fatigue severity. Researchers found one immune marker (CD11b on CD8 cells) was lower in ME/CFS patients, but most other immune measures were similar between groups, and none of these markers correlated with how severe a patient's fatigue or depression was.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM unclearObservational

Chronic fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Disability and health-care use.

Bombardier, C H, Buchwald, D·Medical care·1996

This study compared people with different types of long-term fatigue conditions—including ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue without a specific diagnosis—to understand how much these conditions affect daily life and work. Researchers found that all groups struggled with unemployment and visited many doctors, but people with both ME/CFS and fibromyalgia together had the hardest time staying employed. The results show that these conditions cause serious disruption to people's lives and lead to significant healthcare costs.

Does the stressed patient with chronic fatigue syndrome hyperventilate?

Lavietes, M H, Natelson, B H, Cordero, D L et al.·International journal of behavioral medicine·1996

This study investigated whether people with ME/CFS tend to breathe too quickly or shallowly when under stress, a condition called hyperventilation. Researchers observed patients with ME/CFS and measured their breathing patterns to see if stress triggered abnormal breathing that might contribute to their symptoms. The study helps clarify whether breathing problems are part of what causes ME/CFS symptoms.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

An examination of the working case definition of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Komaroff, A L, Fagioli, L R, Geiger, A M et al.·The American journal of medicine·1996

Researchers studied 281 patients with severe, long-lasting fatigue to see how well the official definition of ME/CFS worked. They compared these patients to healthy people and people with similar conditions like multiple sclerosis and depression. The study found that certain symptoms—like muscle pain, post-exertion exhaustion, headaches, and flu-like symptoms—were very common in ME/CFS patients but rare in the other groups.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateCohortPEM requiredCross-Sectional

Dissociation of body-temperature and melatonin secretion circadian rhythms in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Williams, G, Pirmohamed, J, Minors, D et al.·Clinical physiology (Oxford, England)·1996

This study looked at whether the internal body clocks of ME/CFS patients work normally. Researchers measured body temperature and melatonin (a sleep hormone) rhythms in 20 ME/CFS patients and 17 healthy people. They found that in healthy people, body temperature and melatonin rhythms are normally synchronized, but in ME/CFS patients, these two rhythms were disconnected from each other—like two clocks running at different times.

Decreased vagal power during treadmill walking in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Cordero, D L, Sisto, S A, Tapp, W N et al.·Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society·1996

This study compared how the nervous system controls heart rate in people with ME/CFS versus healthy volunteers during and after treadmill walking. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS had weaker parasympathetic (rest-and-recover) nervous system activity during walking, and this activity dropped even further after exercise stopped. This abnormality might help explain why ME/CFS patients feel worse after physical activity.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

The measurement of fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis. A multidimensional comparison with patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy subjects.

Vercoulen, J H, Hommes, O R, Swanink, C M et al.·Archives of neurology·1996

This study compared fatigue in three groups: people with MS, people with ME/CFS, and healthy people. The researchers found that both MS and ME/CFS patients experienced severe fatigue that affected their daily life. Interestingly, psychological factors like how much someone focuses on their body sensations and whether they feel in control of their symptoms seemed to influence fatigue severity in both diseases.

Viral serologies in patients with chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Buchwald, D, Ashley, R L, Pearlman, T et al.·Journal of medical virology·1996

Researchers tested 548 people with chronic fatigue to see if they had unusually high levels of antibodies to 13 common viruses, since ME/CFS often starts suddenly after a viral illness. They compared antibody levels in patients with chronic fatigue to healthy controls and found no consistent differences between the groups, suggesting these particular virus tests are not helpful in diagnosing or understanding chronic fatigue.

No findings of enteroviruses in Swedish patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Lindh, G, Samuelson, A, Hedlund, K O et al.·Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases·1996

Researchers tested 34 Swedish patients with ME/CFS to see if a virus called enterovirus might be causing their illness. They looked for the virus in stool samples, blood, spinal fluid, and muscle tissue using several different detection methods. The study found no evidence of enterovirus infection in any of the patients tested.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

Clinical and neurocognitive features of the post Lyme syndrome.

Bujak, D I, Weinstein, A, Dornbush, R L·The Journal of rheumatology·1996

This study looked at people who had Lyme disease and continued to have fatigue, joint pain, and memory problems even after antibiotic treatment. Researchers compared 23 of these patients to 23 people who recovered fully from Lyme disease. The group with ongoing symptoms performed worse on memory and concentration tests, reported more sleep and mood problems, and showed signs of greater emotional distress.

Eosinophil cationic protein serum levels and allergy in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Conti, F, Magrini, L, Priori, R et al.·Allergy·1996

This study measured a protein called eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in the blood of ME/CFS patients to see if their immune cells called eosinophils were overly active. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients had significantly higher ECP levels than healthy controls, and most ME/CFS patients also tested positive for allergies. However, ME/CFS patients with allergies did not have higher ECP levels than those without allergies, suggesting the connection may be more complex than initially expected.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Cognitive idiosyncrasies among children with the chronic fatigue syndrome: anomalies in self-reported activity levels.

Fry, A M, Martin, M·Journal of psychosomatic research·1996

This study looked at whether children with ME/CFS and their parents perceive their activity levels differently than healthy children do. Researchers used activity monitors (objective measurement) and asked children and parents to estimate activity (subjective measurement) over 3 days. They found that children with ME/CFS and their parents underestimated how much activity was actually happening, and there was a bigger gap between what they expected to do in the future versus what they wanted to do.