ME/CFS Evidence Browser — Classified Studies on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

5601–5620 of 6,188 studies

E3 PreliminaryBehavioralPEM not requiredLongitudinal

An interdisciplinary therapeutic approach for dealing with patients attributing chronic fatigue and functional memory disorders to environmental poisoning--a pilot study.

Lacour, Michael, Zunder, Thomas, Dettenkofer, Markus et al.·International journal of hygiene and environmental health·2002

This study looked at whether a combination treatment approach—including self-help programs, acupuncture, and group counseling—could help 8 patients with ME/CFS or memory problems who believed their illness was caused by environmental exposure. Though patients were initially reluctant about psychological support, most became willing to try it during the study. After 8 months of treatment, patients reported improvements in quality of life, particularly in mental health, social function, and energy levels.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Psychiatric management of severe somatoform disorders in childhood and adolescence.

Garralda, M Elena·Acta neuropsychiatrica·2002

This review examined how doctors can help children with unexplained medical symptoms, including chronic fatigue syndrome. The authors looked at different treatment approaches, particularly psychological and behavioral therapies, and found that many children improved with these methods. However, they note that more rigorous research is needed to confirm which treatments work best.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Gender differences in fibromyalgia and other related syndromes.

Yunus, Muhammad B·The journal of gender-specific medicine : JGSM : the official journal of the Partnership for Women's Health at Columbia·2002

This review looked at why fibromyalgia and similar conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome affect many more women than men. Women with fibromyalgia tend to report more fatigue, worse sleep, more widespread pain, and more tender points than men. The reasons for these differences likely involve a mix of biological factors, psychological factors, and social factors.

Pain and Sensitization

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

Peripheral vestibular dysfunction in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Palaniappan, Rudrapathy, Sirimanna, Tony·International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology·2002

This study describes a 12-year-old boy with ME/CFS who experienced dizziness caused by a problem with the balance system in his inner ear (his left vestibular system). The doctors found that specific tests could identify this balance problem, and that exercises designed to help retrain the balance system were an effective treatment. This case suggests that some people with ME/CFS who have dizziness might benefit from checking their balance system and doing targeted exercises.

E3 PreliminaryCommentaryPEM unclearEditorial

Chronic fatigue syndrome in the psychiatric practice.

Van Duyse, A, Mariman, A, Poppe, C et al.·Acta neuropsychiatrica·2002

This review examines how psychiatric symptoms interact with ME/CFS. Many people with ME/CFS also experience depression, anxiety, or sleep problems, and doctors often miss these conditions. The study found that while antidepressant medications help with mood and social functioning, they don't improve fatigue itself. Cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercise were the only treatments shown to actually improve fatigue and other ME/CFS symptoms.

Endocrine Disruption

E3 PreliminaryCommentaryPEM unclearEditorial

Chronopathological forms of magnesium depletion with hypofunction or with hyperfunction of the biological clock.

Durlach, J, Pagès, N, Bac, P et al.·Magnesium research·2002

This paper suggests that low magnesium levels may disrupt the body's internal clock (circadian rhythm) in two opposite ways. In one pattern, the clock runs too fast, causing depression, nighttime headaches, and fatigue—similar to symptoms in ME/CFS and fibromyalgia. In the other pattern, the clock runs too slow, causing anxiety, migraines, and sleep problems. The authors propose that measuring melatonin levels could help distinguish between these two patterns and guide treatment.

Sleep

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

The symptoms and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Richardson, Amanda·Nursing times·2002

ME/CFS is a long-lasting illness that affects people differently, and doctors still don't fully understand what causes it or how to cure it. However, there are helpful ways to manage the symptoms, and the best treatment plans are created together with each individual patient. While no medicine has been specifically designed for ME/CFS, doctors can adapt treatments used for similar symptoms in other conditions to help reduce suffering.

Interventions

E3 PreliminaryCommentaryPEM not requiredEditorial

Somatization, sensitization, and functional dyspepsia.

Wilhelmsen, Ingvard·Scandinavian journal of psychology·2002

This study explores why people with conditions like ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and functional dyspepsia experience overlapping symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, muscle pain, and sleep problems. The researchers suggest these different conditions may share a common underlying process where the nervous system becomes overly sensitive to pain and discomfort signals, leading the body to experience and report multiple symptoms across different areas.

Pain and Sensitization

E3 PreliminaryBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Characteristics of patients with persistent severe disability and medically unexplained neurological symptoms: a pilot study.

Allanson, J, Bass, C, Wade, D T·Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·2002

This study looked at 25 patients with severe disability and neurological symptoms that doctors couldn't explain with standard tests. Most patients were in wheelchairs and very limited in daily activities, though they had been given different diagnoses—some psychiatric, some neurological. The researchers found that many of these patients had experienced trauma, had received psychiatric treatment, or had switched from self-harm to physical disability around the same time.

E3 PreliminaryBehavioralPEM not requiredCase-Control

Does graded activity increase activity? A case study of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Friedberg, Fred·Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry·2002

This study looked at one patient with ME/CFS who received treatment aimed at gradually increasing physical activity. Surprisingly, while the patient reported doing more walking and felt much better overall, a step counter showed he was actually taking fewer steps per week by the end of treatment. The improvement seemed to come from doing activities that made him feel better emotionally, rather than from simply moving more.

E3 PreliminaryCommentaryPEM unclearEditorial

Environmental factors in medically unexplained symptoms and related syndromes: the evidence and the challenge.

Kipen, Howard M, Fiedler, Nancy·Environmental health perspectives·2002

This paper discusses how many patients experience symptoms that doctors cannot easily explain, and how these symptoms sometimes get organized into syndrome names like chronic fatigue syndrome. The authors note that these syndromes are defined only by how patients feel, not by medical tests, and that arguments continue about whether environmental factors cause them. They call for better research and clearer definitions to help both doctors and patients understand these conditions.

Diagnostics

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCase-Control

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell beta-endorphin concentration is decreased in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia but not in depression: preliminary report.

Panerai, Alberto E, Vecchiet, Jacopo, Panzeri, Paolo et al.·The Clinical journal of pain·2002

This study measured a natural pain-relieving substance called beta-endorphin in immune cells from people with ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, depression, and healthy controls. The researchers found that people with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia had significantly lower levels of beta-endorphin than healthy people and those with depression. This suggests the immune systems of people with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia may be working differently than in other conditions.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryDiagnosticPEM unclearMethods-Paper

Generation of classification criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome using an artificial neural network and traditional criteria set.

Linder, R, Dinser, R, Wagner, M et al.·In vivo (Athens, Greece)·2002

Researchers tested whether a computer program called an artificial neural network could help doctors better identify ME/CFS by looking at patient symptoms and comparing them to two other conditions that also cause fatigue: lupus and fibromyalgia. The computer program was very accurate—correctly identifying ME/CFS about 95% of the time—and worked better than traditional statistical methods for creating diagnostic rules.

Diagnostics

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

[Stress-related syndromes--contemporary illnesses].

Anderberg, U M·Lakartidningen·2001

This review article examines stress-related conditions including chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), burnout, and fibromyalgia, suggesting they may be different ways the body reacts to extreme stress. The authors note that family problems and work stress are major risk factors for developing these illnesses, and that these conditions may sometimes be early warning signs of more serious diseases like heart problems.

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM not requiredObservational

Role of impaired lower-limb venous innervation in the pathogenesis of the chronic fatigue syndrome.

Streeten, D H·The American journal of the medical sciences·2001

This study found that people with ME/CFS have problems with how blood vessels in their feet respond to stress. When standing up, their blood pressure drops abnormally after a delay, and their foot veins don't tighten properly in response to a hormone (norepinephrine) that normally helps maintain blood pressure. This suggests that the nerves controlling blood vessels in the legs may not be working correctly in ME/CFS.

Autonomic Nervous System

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

[Chronic fatigue syndrome].

Miike, T·Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine·2001

This is a review article that examines what is known about chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Rather than presenting new research data, the authors summarize existing knowledge about the condition, including its characteristics, how it affects patients, and what is understood about its causes. This type of article helps bring together information from many different studies to provide a comprehensive overview of the disease.

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Voluntary motor function in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Davey, N J, Puri, B K, Nowicky, A V et al.·Journal of psychosomatic research·2001

This study tested whether ME/CFS patients have problems with the brain signals that control voluntary movement. Researchers used magnetic stimulation on the scalp to measure how well nerve signals traveled to hand muscles, and they also tested how quickly patients could react and move their hands. The main finding was that while patients moved more slowly than healthy people, the nerve pathways themselves worked normally, suggesting the slowness comes from somewhere else in the body or brain.

E3 PreliminaryCommentaryPEM unclearEditorial

Toxicant-induced loss of tolerance.

Miller, C S·Addiction (Abingdon, England)·2001

This paper proposes a new theory called TILT (toxicant-induced loss of tolerance) that suggests the body can lose its ability to tolerate certain exposures—whether drugs or environmental chemicals—in similar ways. The author argues that both addiction and chemical sensitivity involve the same underlying breakdown in how the body normally handles these substances, which could help explain ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and other chronic illnesses.

Pain and Sensitization

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearMechanistic

Common etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivity via elevated nitric oxide/peroxynitrite.

Pall, M L·Medical hypotheses·2001

This study proposes that ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity, and PTSD may all share the same root cause: a buildup of harmful molecules called nitric oxide and peroxynitrite in the body. These molecules can create a self-perpetuating cycle that keeps the illness going once it starts, often triggered by a period of stress. The same biochemical problem appearing in different tissues might explain why these conditions overlap and share similar symptoms.

E3 PreliminaryPEM unclear

Narrative Identities and the Management of Personal Accountability in Talk about ME: A Discursive Psychology Approach to Illness Narrative.

Horton-Salway, M·Journal of health psychology·2001

This study examined how people with ME/CFS talk about their illness and explain what caused it. Researchers found that patients often describe working too hard before getting sick, but in doing so, they unintentionally suggest they might have caused their own illness—even while trying to prove ME is a real physical disease. The study shows how the words people choose and stories they tell can have complicated effects on how others understand their condition.

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Evidence browser

An interdisciplinary therapeutic approach for dealing with patients attributing chronic fatigue and functional memory disorders to environmental poisoning--a pilot study.

Psychiatric management of severe somatoform disorders in childhood and adolescence.

Gender differences in fibromyalgia and other related syndromes.

Peripheral vestibular dysfunction in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Chronic fatigue syndrome in the psychiatric practice.

Chronopathological forms of magnesium depletion with hypofunction or with hyperfunction of the biological clock.

The symptoms and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Somatization, sensitization, and functional dyspepsia.

Characteristics of patients with persistent severe disability and medically unexplained neurological symptoms: a pilot study.

Does graded activity increase activity? A case study of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Environmental factors in medically unexplained symptoms and related syndromes: the evidence and the challenge.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell beta-endorphin concentration is decreased in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia but not in depression: preliminary report.

Generation of classification criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome using an artificial neural network and traditional criteria set.

[Stress-related syndromes--contemporary illnesses].

Role of impaired lower-limb venous innervation in the pathogenesis of the chronic fatigue syndrome.

[Chronic fatigue syndrome].

Voluntary motor function in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Toxicant-induced loss of tolerance.

Common etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivity via elevated nitric oxide/peroxynitrite.

Narrative Identities and the Management of Personal Accountability in Talk about ME: A Discursive Psychology Approach to Illness Narrative.

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