1.03 Is CFS a "real" disease?
Description
This article is from the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) FAQ, by cfs-news@cais.com (Roger Burns) with numerous contributions by others.
1.03 Is CFS a "real" disease?
At this early point, many practicing clinicians remain unconvinced
that CFS is a genuine illness, although it is slowly increasing in
acceptance. The reluctance is due in part to the facts that (1) no
specific cause has yet been found, (2) there is no observable marker
that doctors can use to specifically identify the illness, and (3)
most doctors are not yet familiar with the peer-reviewed research
which does tend to legitimize this disease.
Emerging illnesses such as CFS typically go through a period of many
years before they are accepted by the medical community, and during
that interim time patients who have these new, unproven illnesses are
all too often dismissed as being "psychiatric cases". This has been
the experience with CFS as well.
But many top-level researchers are showing that this is a distinct,
organic illness. This includes research by Anthony Komaroff (Harvard),
Jay Levy (UCSF), Nancy Klimas (U. Miami), Andrew Lloyd (U. New South
Wales), Stephen Straus (NIH), and others.
Physicians and scientists may find the following citations of
interest:
Levine P; et al. "CFS: Current Concepts" (proceedings of the Oct. 1992
CFS medical conference), Vol. 18 Suppl. 1, January 1994, Clinical
Infectious Diseases.
Klimas N; Salvato F; Morgan R; Fletcher M; "Immunologic abnormalities
in chronic fatigue syndrome". J of Clinical Microbiology 28:1403-1410
(June 90) [Study showing that NK cells (a kind of immune cell)
malfunction in CFS patients; other abnormalities]
Buchwald D; Komaroff A; Cheney P; et al.; "A chronic illness
characterized by fatigue, neurologic and immunologic disorders and
HHV-6 infection". Ann Int Med 116:103-112 (Jan 1992) [Study showing
many CFS patients have HHV-6 infections]
Demitrack M; Dale J; Straus S; et al.; "Evidence for Impaired
Activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Patients with
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". J of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
73:1224-34 (Dec 1991) [shows chemical abnormalities in the brains of
CFS patients]
Straus S; Strober W; Dale J; Fritz S; Gould B; "Lymphocyte Phenotype
and Function in the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". J of Clinical
Immunology 13:30-40 (Jan 93) [Study showing T4 cell (a type of immune
cell) abnormalities in CFS patients]
Lusso P; Malnati M; Garzino-Demo; Crowley; Long; Gallo; "Infection of
natural killer cells by human herpesvirus 6". Nature 362:458-462
(April 1 1993) [HHV-6 -- previously found in CFS patients -- now shown
to kill NK cells (a type of immune cell)
-- a small but important advance in research]
Schwartz R, Komaroff A, Garada B, Gleit M, Doolittle T, Bates D,
Vasile R, Holman
B. "SPECT Imaging of the Brain: Comparison of Findings in Patients
with Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome, AIDS Dementia Complex, and Major Unipolar
Depression" AJR 1994:162:943-951.
Schwartz R, Garada B, Komaroff A, Tice H, Gleit M, Jolesz F, Holman
B. "Detection of Intercranial Abnormalities in Patients with Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome: Comparison of MR Imaging and SPECT" AJR
1994:162:935-941.
Rowe, P; Bou-Holaigah, I; Kan, J; Calkins, H;. "Is Neurally Mediated
Hypotension an Unrecognized Cause of Chronic Fatigue?". Lancet
345:623-624 (March 11, 1995).
Bou-Holaigah, I; Rowe, P; Kan, J; Calkins, H. "The Relationship
Between Neurally Mediated Hypotension and the Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome". JAMA, Sept. 27, 1995 274:12:961-7.
Suhadolnik RJ, Peterson DL, O'Brien K, Cheney PR, et al. Biochemical
Evidence for a Novel Low Molecular Weight 2-5A-Dependent RNase L in
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research,
July 1997, 17:377-385.
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