Myalgic encephalomyelitis
Myalgic encephalomyelitis Causes
Though the cause of CFS is unknown, a large number of causes have been proposed such as neurological abnormalities, psychiatric abnormalities, stress and trauma, oxidative stress, psychoneuroimmunological interactions, endocrine dysfunction, gene expression, genetic polymorphisms, metabolic disorders, and toxic agents.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis Definition
Also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Myalgic encephalomyelitis is a poorly understood and debilitating disorder of uncertain cause or causes. According to a 1999 study among adults in the United States, CFS is thought to affect approximately 4 per 100 adults, and commonly occurs among women ages 40s and 50s.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis Diagnosis
There is currently no accepted conclusive test or series of tests of CFS. It is therefore considered largely an exclusionary diagnosis and if a doctor suspects that a patient is suffering from the disorder, eliminating other potential causes of the syndrome is necessary.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis Symptoms and Signs
Sudden onset cases of CFS are usually accompanied by a ?flu-like illness,? which is more likely to occur in winter. A significant proportion of cases meanwhile begin with several months of severe adverse stress. A study reported that some patients experienced CFS after undergoing vaccination or blood transfusion. In the 2003 Canadian clinical working definition or ME/CFS, 8 categories of symptoms can be inferred namely fatigue, post-exertional malaise, sleep dysfunction, pain, neurological/cognitive manifestations, autonomic manifestations, neuroendocrine manifestations, and immune manifestations.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis Treatment
Though many CFS patients do not recover from even with medical intervention, there are management strategies that can reduce the consequences of having the disorder. In a systematic review, CFS patients are less susceptible to placebo effects than predicted and have low placebo response to patients with other diseases.