Evidence browser

Markers of inflammation and immune activation in chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Buchwald, D, Wener, M H, Pearlman, T et al.·The Journal of rheumatology·1997

Researchers tested blood samples from 153 patients with severe fatigue to see if certain immune markers were elevated, thinking that an overactive immune system might cause ME/CFS. They found that three markers (C-reactive protein, beta 2-microglobulin, and neopterin) were higher in fatigued patients compared to healthy controls, but these markers couldn't reliably distinguish between ME/CFS and other types of chronic fatigue. The results suggest that some patients have signs of immune activation, but it's unclear whether this is a temporary response to infection or part of the ongoing illness.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Neuropsychological and psychological functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Kane, R L, Gantz, N M, DiPino, R K·Neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, and behavioral neurology·1997

This study compared 17 people with ME/CFS to 17 healthy controls on thinking and memory tests, as well as psychological well-being. While ME/CFS patients reported feeling cognitively foggy, most formal test scores were similar between groups. However, ME/CFS patients showed significantly higher levels of psychological distress, anxiety, and depression compared to controls.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredLongitudinal

Coping and other predictors of outcome in chronic fatigue syndrome: a 1-year follow-up.

Ray, C, Jefferies, S, Weir, W R·Journal of psychosomatic research·1997

This study followed 137 ME/CFS patients for one year to see what factors predicted whether they improved or got worse. About two-thirds of patients reported some improvement over the year. The results showed that people with longer illness duration, cognitive difficulties, and multiple body symptoms tended to have worse outcomes, while mental health symptoms like anxiety and depression did not predict outcomes. Interestingly, patients who believed they could influence their condition through their own actions did better, even if they had to adjust their activities around their illness.

Chronic fatigue syndrome criteria in patients with other forms of unexplained chronic fatigue.

Chester, A C·Journal of psychiatric research·1997

This study looked at nearly 300 young people to see how many had symptoms similar to ME/CFS even though they didn't have a confirmed ME/CFS diagnosis. The researchers found that people with unexplained chronic fatigue shared many symptoms with ME/CFS patients, including fever, sore lymph nodes, muscle weakness, muscle pain, headaches, joint pain, brain fog, and sleep problems. This suggests that ME/CFS symptoms are common in people with other types of long-lasting, unexplained tiredness.

Diagnostics

Post-Lyme syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome. Neuropsychiatric similarities and differences.

Gaudino, E A, Coyle, P K, Krupp, L B·Archives of neurology·1997

This study compared people with ME/CFS and people with post-Lyme syndrome (ongoing fatigue after Lyme disease treatment) to understand how their symptoms differ. Both groups had severe fatigue and trouble thinking clearly, but people with post-Lyme syndrome showed more significant problems with memory, attention, and processing speed than people with ME/CFS. The findings suggest these two conditions may involve different types of brain function problems despite feeling similar to patients.

Cognitive deficits in patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, acute infective illness or depression.

Vollmer-Conna, U, Wakefield, D, Lloyd, A et al.·The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science·1997

This study tested how well people with ME/CFS could think and concentrate compared to people with depression, acute infections, and healthy people. All three patient groups performed worse on attention and memory tests and reported feeling more tired than healthy controls. Importantly, people with ME/CFS and acute infection had less severe mood problems than those with depression, suggesting their cognitive difficulties aren't simply caused by depression.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

An epidemiologic study of fatigue with relevance for the chronic fatigue syndrome.

Fukuda, K, Dobbins, J G, Wilson, L J et al.·Journal of psychiatric research·1997

Researchers surveyed nearly 1,700 households across four rural Michigan communities to investigate reports of a cluster of chronic fatigue syndrome cases. They found that fatigue was equally common across all communities studied, and the symptoms people with fatigue experienced were similar to generic tiredness rather than distinctly different. The reported cluster of CFS cases could not be confirmed.

Patterns of utilization of medical care and perceptions of the relationship between doctor and patient with chronic illness including chronic fatigue syndrome.

Twemlow, S W, Bradshaw, S L, Coyne, L et al.·Psychological reports·1997

This study surveyed 609 people with ME/CFS to understand how their relationships with doctors differ from those of other patients with medical conditions. People with ME/CFS reported missing about 65 days of work per year due to illness, experienced more side effects from medical treatments, spent more money on healthcare, and visited more specialists than patients with typical medical conditions. The researchers found that doctors may need to pay more attention to how ME/CFS patients perceive their illness and their doctor-patient relationship, as these beliefs can affect how well treatments work.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

Immune responses associated with chronic fatigue syndrome: a case-control study.

Mawle, A C, Nisenbaum, R, Dobbins, J G et al.·The Journal of infectious diseases·1997

Researchers compared immune system measurements between ME/CFS patients and healthy controls to see if immune differences could reliably detect the illness. While previous studies reported many immune differences, this careful study found most standard immune tests showed no difference between patients and controls. However, when they looked at specific subgroups—such as patients whose illness started suddenly versus gradually—they did find some immune differences, suggesting that ME/CFS may not be a single uniform immune condition.

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.

Cognitive functioning in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Michiels, V, Cluydts, R, Fischler, B et al.·Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology·1996

This study found that people with ME/CFS performed worse than healthy controls on thinking and memory tests. Patients showed slower processing speed, difficulty concentrating, and trouble learning and remembering new information. However, the researchers noted that cognitive problems varied widely between patients, so not everyone with ME/CFS experiences the same level of difficulty.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

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

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCase-Control

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.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredObservational

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.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredObservational

The value of the dehydroepiandrosterone-annexed vitamin C infusion treatment in the clinical control of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). II. Characterization of CFS patients with special reference to their response to a new vitamin C infusion treatment.

Kodama, M, Kodama, T, Murakami, M·In vivo (Athens, Greece)·1996

This 1996 study examined whether high-dose vitamin C infusions, with or without a hormone called DHEA added, could help treat ME/CFS. Researchers treated 313 patients with chronic pneumonia-like illness that matched ME/CFS symptoms, often combined with antibiotics. The authors found that the combination of two types of vitamin C infusions worked better than one type alone, suggesting that low levels of certain body hormones might play a role in ME/CFS.

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.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

'Seronegative' Sjögren's syndrome manifested as a subset of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Nishikai, M, Akiya, K, Tojo, T et al.·British journal of rheumatology·1996

This study looked at whether some people diagnosed with ME/CFS who also experience dry eyes and mouth might actually have a related condition called Sjögren's syndrome. Researchers tested one-third of ME/CFS patients with these dry symptoms against several official diagnostic criteria for Sjögren's syndrome and found they met the criteria. However, these patients tested negative for the antibodies typically found in Sjögren's syndrome, making them an unusual variant of the disease.

Diagnostics

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.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

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.

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.