ME/CFS Evidence Browser — Classified Studies on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

2381–2400 of 6,188 studies

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

The Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI): establishing clinically significant values for identifying central sensitivity syndromes in an outpatient chronic pain sample.

Neblett, Randy, Cohen, Howard, Choi, YunHee et al.·The journal of pain·2013

This study tested a questionnaire called the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) to see if it could help doctors identify patients with conditions like ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome. Researchers believe these conditions may share a common cause: the nervous system becoming overly sensitive to pain and other stimuli. The study found that a CSI score of 40 or higher was a good way to identify patients with these central sensitivity syndromes.

Pain and Sensitization

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Association of monoamine-synthesizing genes with the depression tendency and personality in chronic fatigue syndrome patients.

Fukuda, Sanae, Horiguchi, Mieko, Yamaguti, Kouzi et al.·Life sciences·2013

This study looked at whether specific genetic variations in two genes (GCH and TH) that help make important brain chemicals were linked to ME/CFS. Researchers compared DNA from ME/CFS patients and healthy controls and gave patients personality and fatigue questionnaires. They found that while these genetic variations weren't directly connected to developing ME/CFS, certain variations were associated with specific personality traits—like how perfectionist or cautious someone tends to be.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Influence of symptom expectancies on stair-climbing performance in chronic fatigue syndrome: effect of study context.

Heins, Marianne, Knoop, Hans, Nijs, Jo et al.·International journal of behavioral medicine·2013

This study looked at how ME/CFS patients' expectations about getting worse after physical activity affect how they actually perform during that activity. Researchers had 49 patients climb stairs while measuring how long it took and how their heart rate changed. They found that patients who expected to feel more fatigued after climbing took longer to complete the task, even after accounting for their initial fatigue level. Worry about symptoms and catastrophic thinking about their condition appeared to play a role in these expectations.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Mental illness in metropolitan, urban and rural Georgia populations.

Reeves, William C, Lin, Jin-Mann S, Nater, Urs M·BMC public health·2013

This study looked at how common mental health conditions like anxiety and depression are in people living in different areas of Georgia (cities, towns, and rural areas). Researchers found that people with ME/CFS-like illness had higher rates of anxiety and depression than people without the condition. Women, people with less education, and those living in rural areas were more likely to experience these mental health conditions.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Role of childhood adversity in the development of medical co-morbidities associated with bipolar disorder.

Post, Robert M, Altshuler, Lori L, Leverich, Gabriele S et al.·Journal of affective disorders·2013

This study looked at whether difficult experiences in childhood (such as abuse or having parents with mental health problems) are connected to physical health problems in adults with bipolar disorder. Over 900 adults answered questions about their childhood and their current medical conditions. The researchers found that people who experienced more childhood adversity tended to have more medical problems as adults, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and several other conditions.

E2 ModeratePEM not requiredRegistry-Resource

Cholecystectomy and clinical presentations of gastroparesis.

Parkman, Henry P, Yates, Katherine, Hasler, William L et al.·Digestive diseases and sciences·2013

This study looked at 391 patients with gastroparesis (a condition where the stomach empties food slowly) to see if those who had their gallbladder removed had different symptoms than those who hadn't. They found that patients who had gallbladder surgery experienced more severe upper abdominal pain and retching, but less constipation. Interestingly, patients with prior gallbladder removal also had more other health conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM requiredObservational

Paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome: complex presentations and protracted time to diagnosis.

Knight, Sarah, Harvey, Adrienne, Lubitz, Lionel et al.·Journal of paediatrics and child health·2013

This study looked at 59 young people (average age 15) diagnosed with ME/CFS at a specialist clinic in Australia to understand how the illness affects them and how long it takes to get diagnosed. Researchers found that young people typically wait over a year after their symptoms start before getting a diagnosis, and most experience significant problems with school attendance and daily activities. The most common symptoms included extreme tiredness, sleep problems, pain, and difficulty thinking clearly.

Diagnostics

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Clinical characteristics of a novel subgroup of chronic fatigue syndrome patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Lewis, I, Pairman, J, Spickett, G et al.·Journal of internal medicine·2013

Some ME/CFS patients also have POTS (a condition where the heart rate and blood pressure don't adjust properly when standing up). This study found that ME/CFS patients with POTS are younger, experience less severe fatigue and depression, and have different patterns of daytime sleepiness compared to ME/CFS patients without POTS. A simple combination of two questionnaires can accurately identify which ME/CFS patients have POTS, potentially helping doctors decide who needs additional testing and treatment.

Autonomic Nervous System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Detection of mycotoxins in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Brewer, Joseph H, Thrasher, Jack D, Straus, David C et al.·Toxins·2013

Researchers tested urine samples from 112 ME/CFS patients to see if they had been exposed to mycotoxins—toxic substances produced by mold found in water-damaged buildings. They found that 93% of patients had detectable mycotoxins in their urine, with most patients having been exposed to moldy buildings. When they tested urine from 55 healthy people with no mold exposure, none showed mycotoxins at detectable levels.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Contrasting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome versus Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Jason, Leonard A, Brown, Abigail, Evans, Meredyth et al.·Fatigue : biomedicine, health & behavior·2013

This study compared two different sets of diagnostic criteria used to identify ME/CFS patients. Researchers found that the Canadian criteria are stricter and identify patients who tend to be more severely affected, while the older Fukuda criteria cast a wider net. This suggests that the criteria used to diagnose someone with ME/CFS can significantly affect who gets identified as having the condition.

Diagnostics

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Heart rate variability during sleep and subsequent sleepiness in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Togo, Fumiharu, Natelson, Benjamin H·Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical·2013

This study looked at how the heart's rhythm changes during sleep in ME/CFS patients compared to healthy people, and whether these changes relate to feeling more or less tired after sleep. Researchers found that some ME/CFS patients who woke up feeling sleepier had different heart rhythm patterns during deep sleep than healthy controls, even though standard sleep measurements looked normal. This suggests the nervous system's control of the heart during sleep might be disrupted in ME/CFS, which could contribute to unrefreshing sleep.

SleepAutonomic Nervous System

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM unclearObservational

Cognitive behavior therapy in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: the role of illness acceptance and neuroticism.

Poppe, Carine, Petrovic, Mirko, Vogelaers, Dirk et al.·Journal of psychosomatic research·2013

This study tested whether cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)—a talking treatment that helps change thought patterns and behaviors—improves quality of life in ME/CFS patients. Eighty patients received CBT and reported on their mental health, physical wellbeing, fatigue, and personality traits before and after treatment. While patients did improve, the gains were modest, and the study found that personality traits like neuroticism and how much patients accept their illness affected who benefited most.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredObservational

Fatigue heralding multiple sclerosis.

Berger, Joseph R, Pocoski, Jennifer, Preblick, Ronald et al.·Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)·2013

This study looked at medical records to see how often fatigue appears before someone is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers found that about 29% of newly diagnosed MS patients had been labeled with fatigue in the 3 years before their MS diagnosis, often 1–2 years earlier. The findings suggest that persistent fatigue might be an early warning sign of MS, and doctors should carefully evaluate people with unexplained fatigue for possible neurological causes.

Diagnostics

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Temporal organization of rest defined by actigraphy data in healthy and childhood chronic fatigue syndrome children.

Kawabata, Minako, Ueno, Taro, Tomita, Jun et al.·BMC psychiatry·2013

This study looked at sleep and rest patterns in healthy children and children with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) using wristband activity trackers. The researchers found that when they looked at the patterns of rest and sleep separately—distinguishing between time spent out of bed versus in bed—children with CFS had different patterns compared to healthy children. This suggests that how the body organizes rest and activity may be disrupted in CFS.

Sleep

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredLongitudinal

Internet-based therapy for adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome: long-term follow-up.

Nijhof, Sanne L, Priesterbach, Loudy P, Uiterwaal, Cuno S P M et al.·Pediatrics·2013

This study followed adolescents with ME/CFS for nearly 3 years after they completed an internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy program called FITNET. About 59% of teenagers had recovered from their illness by the end of the follow-up period, and most of those who improved right after treatment stayed better. Interestingly, teens who received standard care also recovered at similar rates over time, though it took longer.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Relationship between autonomic cardiovascular control, case definition, clinical symptoms, and functional disability in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: an exploratory study.

Wyller, Vegard B, Helland, Ingrid B·BioPsychoSocial medicine·2013

This study looked at how the nervous system controls heart rate in teenagers with ME/CFS and how this relates to their symptoms and disability. Researchers tested 38 teenagers using a tilt test (lying flat then tilting upright) while measuring heart rate changes, and asked them about their symptoms. They found that disability in ME/CFS comes from multiple symptoms—not just fatigue—and that problems with heart rate control are linked to certain symptoms like brain fog and sensitivity to stimulation.

Autonomic Nervous SystemCognitive Impairment

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Latent class analysis of comorbidity patterns among women with generalized and localized vulvodynia: preliminary findings.

Nguyen, Ruby Hn, Veasley, Christin, Smolenski, Derek·Journal of pain research·2013

This study examined 1,457 women with vulvodynia (chronic vulvar pain) to understand which other pain conditions tend to occur together. Researchers found that women with more severe vulvar pain were much more likely to also have multiple other pain conditions, particularly irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia. The findings suggest that these different pain conditions may share common underlying causes.

Pain and Sensitization

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing reveals alterations of intestinal microbiota in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients.

Frémont, Marc, Coomans, Danny, Massart, Sebastien et al.·Anaerobe·2013

This study examined bacteria in the gut of ME/CFS patients compared to healthy people. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients have different types and amounts of gut bacteria than healthy controls, particularly an overgrowth of certain bacteria and a decrease in others. These differences suggest that gut bacteria imbalance may be linked to ME/CFS, and testing for these specific bacteria changes might help diagnose the condition or guide new treatments like probiotics.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredObservational

Chronic fatigue syndrome 5 years after giardiasis: differential diagnoses, characteristics and natural course.

Mørch, Kristine, Hanevik, Kurt, Rivenes, Ann C et al.·BMC gastroenterology·2013

After a water contamination outbreak in Norway, researchers followed people who developed severe tiredness following a Giardia intestinal infection. Five years after infection, they found that about 41% of patients still had chronic fatigue syndrome, while about 21% had recovered completely. The study also identified other conditions like sleep problems and depression that sometimes occur alongside post-infectious fatigue.

Diagnostics

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM unclearLongitudinal

Life course study of the etiology of self-reported irritable bowel syndrome in the 1958 British birth cohort.

Goodwin, Laura, White, Peter D, Hotopf, Matthew et al.·Psychosomatic medicine·2013

This study followed thousands of people born in 1958 in the UK to see who developed irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by age 42. Researchers found that women were twice as likely to develop IBS, and people who had psychological distress in their 20s and 30s were more likely to later develop IBS. Surprisingly, difficult childhood experiences were not associated with later IBS development.

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The Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI): establishing clinically significant values for identifying central sensitivity syndromes in an outpatient chronic pain sample.

Association of monoamine-synthesizing genes with the depression tendency and personality in chronic fatigue syndrome patients.

Influence of symptom expectancies on stair-climbing performance in chronic fatigue syndrome: effect of study context.

Mental illness in metropolitan, urban and rural Georgia populations.

Role of childhood adversity in the development of medical co-morbidities associated with bipolar disorder.

Cholecystectomy and clinical presentations of gastroparesis.

Paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome: complex presentations and protracted time to diagnosis.

Clinical characteristics of a novel subgroup of chronic fatigue syndrome patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Detection of mycotoxins in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Contrasting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome versus Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Heart rate variability during sleep and subsequent sleepiness in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Cognitive behavior therapy in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: the role of illness acceptance and neuroticism.

Fatigue heralding multiple sclerosis.

Temporal organization of rest defined by actigraphy data in healthy and childhood chronic fatigue syndrome children.

Internet-based therapy for adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome: long-term follow-up.

Relationship between autonomic cardiovascular control, case definition, clinical symptoms, and functional disability in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: an exploratory study.

Latent class analysis of comorbidity patterns among women with generalized and localized vulvodynia: preliminary findings.

High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing reveals alterations of intestinal microbiota in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients.

Chronic fatigue syndrome 5 years after giardiasis: differential diagnoses, characteristics and natural course.

Life course study of the etiology of self-reported irritable bowel syndrome in the 1958 British birth cohort.

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