An Overview of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
(ME/CFS)
Prevalence and Costs:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex,
multi-systemic disorder affecting from 1-4 million people in the United
States and approximately 200,000 people in Canada.
ME/CFS
typically costs families approximately $25,000 a year in lost wages and
medical costs. Total costs to the
US
economy range from 19-25 billion dollars a year.
Who Gets Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
(ME/CFS)?
While people of every age, sex and socioeconomic class
get CFS, middle-aged women appear to be at the highest risk.
Some evidence suggests that people with lower incomes also have a higher risk of
getting this disease.
Some researchers believe increased rates of physical and/or
psychological stress may increase ones risk of getting
CFS. Many CFS patients cannot, however, identify a trigger for their
illness. Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
does not appear to be contagious but some evidence suggests there is a
hereditary component to the disease and that it can run in some families.
Symptoms and Diagnosis:
Only approximately 20% of chroni
c
fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients in
the U.S. have been diagnosed. Because no laboratory tests unique to the disease have
been found patients are diagnosed using symptoms and by eliminating other
diseases. According to
the International Definition (1994) CFS is characterized by
unexplained severe fatigue lasting for over six months that is not
substantially alleviated by rest.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
patients must also display four or more of the following symptoms;
post-exertional malaise, unrefreshing sleep, memory and/or concentration
problems, muscle and/or joint pains, headaches, sore throat and tender
lymph nodes.
Because diagnosing ME/CFS requires ruling out numerous other diseases
(thyroid disease, multiple sclerosis, depression, etc.) that could cause
similar symptoms this disease
can only be diagnosed by a physician. Patients commonly also display
a wide array of other symptoms.
Dig Deeper! Diagnosing ME/CFS
Dig Deeper! Symptoms
Prognosis: Recovery rates appear to be highest in the first two years of the
disease. A significant percentage of CFS patients improve over time and
a smaller number decline. While total recoveries do occur they do not
appear to be common. Recovery can occur, however, even in patients who
have had this disease for decades. Studies on mortality are rare but CFS does not
appear to be associated with increased mortality.
Dig Deeper! Check out Prognosis
Causes of CFS:
A
wide variety of immune, endocrine, cardiovascular and central nervous
abnormalities have been reported in
CFS. Among the
causes suggested for
CFS
include damage to parts of the brain governing cognition, memory, mood,
energy and perception, an altered stress response, an unbalanced immune
system, a hidden chronic infection, dysfunction of the interferon
pathway, rampant free radical production, abnormal sympathetic nervous
system activity, cardiac dysfunction and others.
Dig Deeper:
Causes of CFS
Treating CFS:
There
is no cure for CFS but physicians employ a wide variety of
pharmaceutical drugs, alternative therapies, nutritional aids and coping
strategies to ameliorate the symptoms of CFS.
Dig Deeper: Prognosis
and Treatment Success Rates /
Treating CFS
The Future:
Chronic fatigue syndrome has made great strides in gaining legitimacy
over the past five years. In 2006 the head of the CDC and the Assistant
Secretary of Health kicked off an extensive media campaign designed to inform
the public and physicians of the serious nature of CFS. ME/CFS researchers have
recently uncovered immune, nervous system and endocrine abnormalities in CFS
patients. While the disease's legitimacy in the professional and public arena's has increased
research funding remains astonishingly low and in some areas has declined.
Dig Deeper: Advocacy Pages
Dig Deeper! Check out the Phoenix Rising Forums
_____________________________
Centers For Disease Control:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
CFIDS Association of America:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome