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This article is from the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) FAQ, by cfs-news@cais.com (Roger Burns) with numerous contributions by others.

2.16 How does CFS relate to other similar illnesses such as fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivities, Gulf War syndrome, neurally mediated hypotension, Lyme disease, candida, etc.)?

There are several conditions whose symptoms and patterns are so
similar that many believe there must be a common mechanism
involved. Some research has suggested that dysfunction of the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may be implicated in several
or all of these conditions. This axis controls stress response and
many other bodily functions. If HPA dysfunction is truly involved in
many of these conditions, it would be little surprise since the
neuroendocrine mechanisms of the HPA axis are both complex and
delicate, and thus minor variations in such a dysfunction might well
produce the variants we are seeing in these similar illnesses.

The similarities and differences between CFS and other conditions are
discussed in the article by Calabrese et al. -- see Appendix 2.

There are many network resources available that provide discussion and
information about these related conditions. See the CFS Network Help
file, described under question 5.04.

 

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