Evidence browser

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM not requiredObservational

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia: a status report in 2010.

Natelson, Benjamin H·MD advisor : a journal for New Jersey medical community·2010

This 2010 report by Dr. Benjamin Natelson reviews the current understanding of ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, two conditions that cause persistent fatigue and pain. The report summarizes what doctors and researchers knew at that time about how these conditions develop, how they affect the body, and how they are treated. It provides an overview of the scientific evidence available in 2010 to help explain why people with these conditions experience their symptoms.

Biomarkers

Cytokines across the night in chronic fatigue syndrome with and without fibromyalgia.

Nakamura, Toru, Schwander, Stephan K, Donnelly, Robert et al.·Clinical and vaccine immunology : CVI·2010

Researchers studied immune signaling molecules called cytokines in people with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia while they slept in a lab, comparing them to healthy people. Instead of finding signs of excessive inflammation (which some theories predicted), they found slightly elevated levels of a calming immune molecule called interleukin-10. These small changes might help explain why many ME/CFS patients struggle with disrupted sleep.

Implications of forgiveness enhancement in patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Toussaint, Loren, Overvold-Ronningen, Mary, Vincent, Ann et al.·Journal of health care chaplaincy·2010

This review examines whether learning to forgive—others and ourselves—might help people with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia cope better with the anger, stress, fear, and depression that often come with these conditions. The authors suggest that forgiveness could be a helpful complementary approach, alongside other treatments, to reduce the emotional burden of living with these chronic illnesses. They propose a model to guide future research on how forgiveness might improve well-being in these patient populations.

Activity in the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-adrenocortical system on experimental induction of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Fomicheva, E E, Filatenkova, T A, Rybakina, E G·Neuroscience and behavioral physiology·2010

This study used an experimental model to investigate how ME/CFS might affect the body's stress response system. Researchers gave animals a substance that mimics a viral infection to trigger CFS-like symptoms, then tested how well their stress hormone system worked. They found that the stress response system became impaired, with reduced ability to produce and respond to key stress hormones.

Possible role of oxidative stress and immunological activation in mouse model of chronic fatigue syndrome and its attenuation by olive extract.

Gupta, Amit, Vij, Garima, Chopra, Kanwaljit·Journal of neuroimmunology·2010

Researchers used mice to study whether oxidative stress (chemical damage in cells) and immune activation play a role in ME/CFS-like symptoms. They found that mice treated with immune-triggering substances showed increased fatigue and pain sensitivity, along with signs of cellular damage. When given olive extract, these mice showed improvement in fatigue, pain, and markers of cellular damage.

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM not requiredMethods-Paper

Efficiency evaluation of autonomic heart control by using the principal component analysis of ECG P-wave.

Krisciukaitis, A, Simoliuniene, R, Tamosiunas, M et al.·Methods of information in medicine·2010

This study developed a new computer method to measure how well the heart's nerves (autonomic nervous system) work by analyzing changes in the electrical activity of the heart during a simple tilt test, where a person moves from lying down to standing up. The researchers tested this method in healthy people and those with heart rhythm problems, and found it could detect differences in how the heart responds to position changes. This type of measurement might eventually help doctors diagnose problems with heart control earlier.

Autonomic Nervous System

Host range and cellular tropism of the human exogenous gammaretrovirus XMRV.

Stieler, Kristin, Schulz, Claudia, Lavanya, Madakasira et al.·Virology·2010

This study examined how XMRV, a virus found in some ME/CFS patients' blood cells, infects different types of human cells. Researchers tested which cells the virus could enter and grow in, finding that it could infect various cell types including immune cells and prostate cells. The virus appeared to replicate most efficiently in prostate tissue, suggesting the virus may have preferred targets in the body.

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM not requiredMethods-Paper

Fidelity of target site duplication and sequence preference during integration of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus.

Kim, Sanggu, Rusmevichientong, Alice, Dong, Beihua et al.·PloS one·2010

This study examined how XMRV, a virus linked to ME/CFS, inserts its genetic material into human cells. The researchers found that XMRV integrates into the host genome with high accuracy and follows a predictable pattern. Understanding how the virus integrates into our cells is an important step toward understanding how it might cause disease.

The Beliefs about Emotions Scale: validity, reliability and sensitivity to change.

Rimes, Katharine A, Chalder, Trudie·Journal of psychosomatic research·2010

Researchers created a new questionnaire called the Beliefs about Emotions Scale to measure how much people with ME/CFS tend to think negative emotions are unacceptable or shouldn't be expressed. They found that people with ME/CFS had much higher scores on this scale than healthy people, and that the scores improved after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), suggesting the scale can detect real changes in these unhelpful beliefs.

Biology and pathophysiology of the new human retrovirus XMRV and its association with human disease.

Rusmevichientong, Alice, Chow, Samson A·Immunologic research·2010

Scientists discovered a new virus called XMRV and found it in some people with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This review article summarizes what was known about this virus at the time, how it might work in the body, and what still needs to be studied to understand whether XMRV actually causes disease in humans.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Short QT interval in clinical practice.

Bjerregaard, Preben, Nallapaneni, Hari, Gussak, Ihor·Journal of electrocardiology·2010

This review article discusses a heart rhythm pattern called a 'short QT interval' that doctors can see on heart electrical recordings (EKGs). The authors note that while this pattern is rare, it can sometimes be dangerous and increase the risk of sudden cardiac death. They found that short QT intervals have been reported in patients with ME/CFS, along with several other medical conditions, though we still don't fully understand what it means or how to best manage patients who have it.

Inhibition of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus by APOBEC3 proteins and antiviral drugs.

Paprotka, Tobias, Venkatachari, Narasimhan J, Chaipan, Chawaree et al.·Journal of virology·2010

This study investigated how a virus called XMRV, which has been found in some ME/CFS patients, survives and spreads in human cells. Researchers discovered that the virus can replicate more easily in certain cells that have low levels of natural antiviral proteins called APOBEC3. The study also found that some HIV medications (AZT, tenofovir, and raltegravir) can block XMRV replication in laboratory tests.

E3 PreliminaryBehavioralPEM not requiredCase-Control

Promising outcomes of an adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome inpatient programme.

Gordon, Brett, Lubitz, Lionel·Journal of paediatrics and child health·2009

This study looked at 16 teenagers with ME/CFS who participated in a 4-week inpatient program that included carefully supervised exercise training tailored to each person's abilities. Teenagers who completed the program showed improvements in physical fitness (18% longer time before fatigue, 17% better oxygen uptake), strength (70% more push-ups), fatigue severity (13% improvement), and depression symptoms (42% improvement). These improvements helped many teenagers return to school, social activities, and family life.

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM not requiredMethods-Paper

A comparison of classification methods for predicting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome based on genetic data.

Huang, Lung-Cheng, Hsu, Sen-Yen, Lin, Eugene·Journal of translational medicine·2009

Researchers used computer algorithms to analyze genetic variations (called SNPs) in people with ME/CFS to see if they could predict who has the disease. They tested different mathematical approaches to find the most important genes linked to ME/CFS. Their best-performing method combined a technique called naive Bayes with a process that identified the most relevant genetic markers, suggesting this approach could help identify genetic patterns in ME/CFS.