ME/CFS Evidence Browser — Classified Studies on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

3081–3100 of 6,188 studies

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredLongitudinal

Temporal relations between unexplained fatigue and depression: longitudinal data from an international study in primary care.

Skapinakis, Petros, Lewis, Glyn, Mavreas, Venetsanos·Psychosomatic medicine·2004

This study tracked over 3,000 people from primary care clinics worldwide for one year to understand the relationship between unexplained fatigue and depression. They found that people with depression were four times more likely to develop fatigue, and people with fatigue were nearly three times more likely to develop depression. The results suggest these two conditions may increase the risk of each other developing.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

Association between chronic fatigue syndrome and the corticosteroid-binding globulin gene ALA SER224 polymorphism.

Torpy, David J, Bachmann, A W, Gartside, M et al.·Endocrine research·2004

This study investigated whether a specific genetic variation in a gene called CBG (corticosteroid-binding globulin) might increase the risk of developing ME/CFS. The researchers compared 248 ME/CFS patients with 248 healthy controls and found a trend suggesting that people with two copies of a particular genetic variant (called serine224) were more common among ME/CFS patients. This variant was associated with higher CBG levels in the blood but lower cortisol levels, which could affect how the body manages stress and inflammation.

Endocrine Disruption

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

General practitioners' perceptions of chronic fatigue syndrome and beliefs about its management, compared with irritable bowel syndrome: qualitative study.

Raine, Rosalind, Carter, Simon, Sensky, Tom et al.·BMJ (Clinical research ed.)·2004

This study asked 46 general practitioners (GPs) in England about their views on ME/CFS and compared these with their views on irritable bowel syndrome. The researchers found that many GPs held negative stereotypes about ME/CFS patients, viewing them unfavorably because the condition has no clear physical marker, changes how it's classified over time, and conflicts with traditional ideas about work and illness. These negative attitudes made it harder for GPs to provide effective care.

Diagnostics

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

Gastric emptying is slow in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Burnet, Richard B, Chatterton, Barry E·BMC gastroenterology·2004

This study found that people with ME/CFS often have stomach problems that can be measured with special imaging tests. Researchers compared 32 ME/CFS patients with 45 healthy people and discovered that most ME/CFS patients had slower movement of food through their stomachs, particularly liquids. These measured stomach delays matched up with how severe patients' digestive symptoms were.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCase-Control

Physiological responses during a submaximal cycle test in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Wallman, Karen E, Morton, Alan R, Goodman, Carmel et al.·Medicine and science in sports and exercise·2004

This study compared how people with ME/CFS and healthy people without the condition respond to exercise on a stationary bike. The main finding was that people with ME/CFS felt much more exhausted during the same amount of exercise, and they couldn't exercise as hard before becoming tired. Both groups were matched carefully so they had similar activity levels before the study, which makes the comparison more fair.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredObservational

Posttraumatic stress disorder and physical illness: results from clinical and epidemiologic studies.

Boscarino, Joseph A·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2004

This study looked at whether people with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) are more likely to develop physical illnesses, including chronic fatigue syndrome. Researchers examined nearly 2,500 Vietnam veterans and found that those with chronic PTSD had higher rates of autoimmune diseases and showed immune system changes that could explain why trauma survivors develop long-lasting health problems.

Immune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearObservational

[Biologically active food additives for correction of the chronic fatigue syndrome].

Dotsenko, V A, Mosiĭchuk, L V, Paramonov, A E·Voprosy pitaniia·2004

This study looked at whether a nutritional supplement made from beer yeast called 'Nagipol' might help people with ME/CFS. Researchers gave the supplement to patients and found improvements in fatigue, thinking ability, mood symptoms, and some blood markers. The authors suggest it could be useful as part of dietary treatment for ME/CFS, especially for patients who are overweight.

Cognitive Impairment

E2 ModerateReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Chronic fatigue syndrome: matching exercise to symptom fluctuations.

Skinner, James S·The Physician and sportsmedicine·2004

People with ME/CFS often feel extremely tired and experience worsening fatigue after physical activity, leading many to stop exercising altogether and become weaker. This review suggests that gentle, intermittent exercise at low to moderate intensity may actually help improve how much activity patients can do and reduce their fatigue and other symptoms. The good news is that standard exercise testing doesn't make ME/CFS symptoms worse, and matching exercise type to daily symptom changes appears to be a practical approach.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Cortisol and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis hormones in follicular-phase women with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome and effect of depressive symptoms on these hormones.

Gur, Ali, Cevik, Remzi, Nas, Kemal et al.·Arthritis research & therapy·2004

This study examined hormone levels in women with fibromyalgia and ME/CFS, comparing them to healthy women. Researchers found that women with both conditions had lower cortisol (a stress hormone) than healthy controls, but other reproductive hormones were similar across groups. Depression symptoms appeared to be connected to even lower cortisol levels, though it's unclear whether depression causes low cortisol or low cortisol contributes to depression.

Endocrine Disruption

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Diminished central activation during maximal voluntary contraction in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Schillings, M L, Kalkman, J S, van der Werf, S P et al.·Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology·2004

This study compared how the brains and muscles of ME/CFS patients and healthy people control muscle strength during a sustained squeeze test. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients had weaker voluntary control from their brain to their muscles at the start of the task, even though their muscles themselves were less fatigued afterward. This suggests that in ME/CFS, the problem may originate from reduced brain-to-muscle signaling rather than muscle weakness itself.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

Increased neutrophil apoptosis in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Kennedy, G, Spence, V, Underwood, C et al.·Journal of clinical pathology·2004

This study found that people with ME/CFS have more dying white blood cells (neutrophils) and fewer healthy ones compared to people without the condition. The researchers also discovered that ME/CFS patients have higher levels of a chemical called TGF-beta1 that can trigger cell death. These findings suggest that ME/CFS involves measurable problems with the immune system that can be detected in a blood test.

Immune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCase-Control

Association of medically unexplained fatigue with ACE insertion/deletion polymorphism in Gulf War veterans.

Vladutiu, Georgirene D, Natelson, Benjamin H·Muscle & nerve·2004

This study looked at a specific gene called ACE that helps control muscle function and found that Gulf War veterans with chronic fatigue had different versions of this gene compared to healthy veterans. Specifically, veterans with a certain genetic pattern (called DD) were much more likely to develop severe, long-lasting fatigue that doctors couldn't easily explain. This suggests that genetics may play a role in who develops ME/CFS, at least in this group of veterans.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredObservational

Outpatient rehabilitative treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME).

Viner, R, Gregorowski, A, Wine, C et al.·Archives of disease in childhood·2004

This study looked at whether a combination of graded exercise, family counseling, and supportive care helped young people with ME/CFS get better compared to supportive care alone. Over 3-24 months, young people who received the full treatment program were more likely to return to school and report feeling better, with 43% fully recovering compared to only 4.5% in the supportive care alone group.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredObservational

Kinesiophobia in chronic fatigue syndrome: assessment and associations with disability.

Nijs, Jo, De Meirleir, Kenny, Duquet, William·Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation·2004

This study looked at whether ME/CFS patients who fear movement (kinesiophobia) have more activity limitations than others. Researchers used a questionnaire to measure fear of movement and found that patients with higher fear of movement reported more difficulty with daily activities, but this fear did not actually relate to how much exercise capacity they had when tested on a bike.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Impairment and coping in children and adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome: a comparative study with other paediatric disorders.

Garralda, M Elena, Rangel, Luiza·Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines·2004

This study compared how much ME/CFS affects children's daily lives compared to other conditions like arthritis and emotional disorders. Children with ME/CFS had more severe problems with school attendance and were more worried about their illness than the other groups. The study found that children with ME/CFS used different coping strategies—they were less likely to solve problems actively and more likely to give up or regulate their emotions when dealing with illness.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredObservational

Disability evaluation in chronic fatigue syndrome: associations between exercise capacity and activity limitations/participation restrictions.

Nijs, J, De Meirleir, K, Wolfs, S et al.·Clinical rehabilitation·2004

This study looked at whether ME/CFS patients with lower exercise capacity also have more difficulty with daily activities. Researchers tested 77 patients on an exercise bike and asked them to report how limited they were in everyday life. They found a modest connection between poor exercise performance and activity limitations, but the link was not strong enough to predict disability from exercise tests alone.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Working memory deficits in chronic fatigue syndrome: differentiating between speed and accuracy of information processing.

Deluca, John, Christodoulou, Christopher, Diamond, Bruce J et al.·Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS·2004

This study tested how quickly people with ME/CFS can process information (like reading or hearing something fast) and how well they can hold information in their working memory (like remembering a phone number while writing it down). The researchers found that people with ME/CFS without mental health conditions had slower information processing speeds, but their memory ability was normal. Interestingly, people with ME/CFS who also had depression or anxiety showed similar results to healthy people.

Cognitive Impairment

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Chronic fatigue syndrome: lack of association between pain-related fear of movement and exercise capacity and disability.

Nijs, Jo, Vanherberghen, Katrien, Duquet, William et al.·Physical therapy·2004

Many ME/CFS patients with pain avoid movement because they fear it will make them worse (a condition called kinesiophobia). This study tested whether this fear of movement actually relates to how much exercise patients can do or how disabled they are. Researchers found that fear of movement was common in ME/CFS patients, but surprisingly, it did not predict exercise capacity or activity limitations.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredObservational

Prediction of peak oxygen uptake in patients fulfilling the 1994 CDC criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome.

Nijs, Jo, De Meirleir, Kenny·Clinical rehabilitation·2004

This study looked for a simple way to predict how much oxygen someone with ME/CFS can use during exercise (called VO2peak), which is a measure of exercise capacity. Researchers tested 240 ME/CFS patients on exercise bikes and found that by measuring the maximum workload a patient could achieve, they could estimate their oxygen use fairly accurately with a simple calculation.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

The specificity of the CDC-1994 criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome: comparison of health status in three groups of patients who fulfill the criteria.

Kennedy, Gwen, Abbot, Neil C, Spence, Vance et al.·Annals of epidemiology·2004

This study looked at whether the standard definition of ME/CFS is specific enough to identify a single disease. Researchers compared three groups of patients who all met the official diagnostic criteria but got sick in different ways: some had gradual onset, some developed symptoms after Gulf War service, and some after pesticide exposure. They found important differences between these groups in their physical symptoms and emotional health, suggesting the current definition may be catching different conditions.

Diagnostics

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Temporal relations between unexplained fatigue and depression: longitudinal data from an international study in primary care.

Association between chronic fatigue syndrome and the corticosteroid-binding globulin gene ALA SER224 polymorphism.

General practitioners' perceptions of chronic fatigue syndrome and beliefs about its management, compared with irritable bowel syndrome: qualitative study.

Gastric emptying is slow in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Physiological responses during a submaximal cycle test in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and physical illness: results from clinical and epidemiologic studies.

[Biologically active food additives for correction of the chronic fatigue syndrome].

Chronic fatigue syndrome: matching exercise to symptom fluctuations.

Cortisol and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis hormones in follicular-phase women with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome and effect of depressive symptoms on these hormones.

Diminished central activation during maximal voluntary contraction in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Increased neutrophil apoptosis in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Association of medically unexplained fatigue with ACE insertion/deletion polymorphism in Gulf War veterans.

Outpatient rehabilitative treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME).

Kinesiophobia in chronic fatigue syndrome: assessment and associations with disability.

Impairment and coping in children and adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome: a comparative study with other paediatric disorders.

Disability evaluation in chronic fatigue syndrome: associations between exercise capacity and activity limitations/participation restrictions.

Working memory deficits in chronic fatigue syndrome: differentiating between speed and accuracy of information processing.

Chronic fatigue syndrome: lack of association between pain-related fear of movement and exercise capacity and disability.

Prediction of peak oxygen uptake in patients fulfilling the 1994 CDC criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome.

The specificity of the CDC-1994 criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome: comparison of health status in three groups of patients who fulfill the criteria.

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