"Hitting A Moving Target': Defining Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
It's not too dramatic to state that how successful ME/CFS researchers
will be is a function of how good a definition of ME/CFS they have. A poor
definition will lead to inconsistent results and stagnation in the research
field. A good definition on the other hand that will spark research efforts.
A definition that emphasizes emotional aspects of ME/CFS will lead to a more
psychological interpretation of the disease while one that emphasizes
physiological aspects will lead researchers in that area.
Recently the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) created a controversial
new definition of CFS. In this series of paper we take the definition apart
to see what's in it, examine the controversy surrounding it and try to
figure out what it holds for the future.
Hitting A Moving Target I: Defining and Quantifying
CFS
the New Prevalence Estimate:The new prevalence
estimates - an overview of the CDC's efforts to define CFS, the controversy
over the new definition and what it may hold for CFS.
Hitting a Moving Target II: Defining and Quantifying CFS - Another Smoke
Filled Room?, Testing the Definition - the Early Results, Increased
Prevalence Rates - What Increased Prevalence Rates?, Metrosexual Problems in
Georgia? and more.