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Chronic Fatigue and Immune System
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome CFS is a
multi-system disease that affects the central nervous and immune
systems and often the musculoskeletal system. In The United Kingdom
and Canada the condition is known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME
for short. “Myalgic” draws attention to the muscle pain, and
encephalomyelitis to the effect the disorder has on the brain and the
nerves.
In March 1988 the CDC (U.S. Centers for
Disease Control) published in Annals of Internal
Medicine a group of signs and symptoms that collectively
characterize CFS, as follows:
Major Criteria
- New onset of
fatigue lasting longer than six months with 50 percent reduction in
activity
- No
other medical or psychiatric conditions that could cause the symptoms
Minor Criteria
Symptoms must begin at or after onset
of fatigue
- Low-grade fever
- Sore throat
- Painful lymph
nodes
- Generalized
muscle weakness
- Muscle pain
- Prolonged
fatigue after exercise
- Headaches
- Joint pain
- Sleep
disturbance
-
Neuropsychologic complaints, such as forgetfulness, confusion,
difficulty concentrating, depression
- Acute onset
(over a few hours to a few days)
Physical Criteria
- Low-grade fever
- Throat
inflammation
- Palpable or
tender lymph nodes
The major criteria for diagnosing CFS
are:
- The new onset of fatigue that lasts longer than six months and
reduces one’s level of activity by 50 percent
- The exclusion of other medical or
psychiatric conditions that could cause the symptoms.
However, to be diagnosed with CFS, the patient also must
suffer either 8 of the 11 symptoms on the list of minor criteria or 6
of 11 of these symptoms as well as 2 of 3 from
the list of physical criteria.
CFS has sometimes been referred to as
the "chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome." A number
of studies have found many irregularities of the immune system,
although there is no consistent pattern. Some components appear to be
over reactive, whereas others appear to be under reactive.
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