Medical Factsheet - Some Facts about M.E./PVFS/CFS

Factsheet: Literature from updates 2006

SOME FACTS ABOUT M.E./PVFS/CFS

1. More evidence of hypoperfusion in CFS patients without psychopathology.

Yoshiuchi, K, Farkas, J and Natelson, BH. Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have reduced absolute cortical blood flow. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, 2006, 26, 2, 83-86.

2. Further evidence that deconditioning does not explain CFS.

Schmaling, KB., Fiedelak, JI., Bader, J and Buchwald D. A longitudinal study of physical activity and body mass index among persons with unexplained chronic fatigue. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2005, 58, 4, 375-381.

3. Mitochondrial abnormalities have been found in a clearly defined subgroup at an early stage of the disease. This may be a factor delaying recovery.

Vernon, SD., Whistler, T., Cameron, B., Hickie, IB., Reeves, WC and Lloyd, A. Preliminary evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction associated with post-infective fatigue after acute infection with Epstein Barr Virus. BMC Infectious Diseases 2006, 6: 15.

4. British general practitioners recommend pacing more often than graded exercise.

Saidi, G and Haines, L. The management of children with chronic fatigue syndrome-like illness in primary care: a cross-sectional study. British Journal of General Practice, 2006, 56, 522, 43-47.

4A. Researchers studying fatigue syndromes advocate pacing.

Nijs, J., Meeus, M and de Meirleir, K. Chronic musculoskeletal pain in chronic fatigue syndrome: recent developments and therapeutic implications. Manual Therapy, 2006 Jun 13; [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1016/j.math.2006.03.008

Van Damme, S., Crombez, G., Van Houdenhove, B., Mariman, A and Michielsen, W. Well-being in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. The role of acceptance. Journal of Psycho-somatic Research, 2006, 61, 5, 595-599.

Van Houdenhove, B. What is the aim of cognitive behaviour therapy in patients with chronic Fatigue syndrome? Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2006, 75, 6, 396-397.

5. More research demonstrating the inadequacies of the 1994 CDC definition of CFS.

Reeves, WC., Wagner, D., Nisenbaum, R., Jones, JF., Gurbaxani, B., Solomon, L., Papanicolaou, DA., Unger, ER., Vernon, SD and Heim, C. Chronic fatigue syndrome - a clinically empirical approach to its definition and study. BMC Medicine, 2005, 3, 1, 19.

6. Evidence challenging the concept of functional somatic syndromes and the lumping together of different conditions.

Moss-Morris, R and Spence, M. To "Lump" or to "Split" the functional somatic syndromes: can infectious and emotional risk factors differentiate between the onset of chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome? Psychosomatic Medicine, 2006, 68, 463-469.

7. Differences between patients who recover normally from viral infections, and those who do not, are apparent at an early stage and predictors of poor outcome include severity of the acute illness, not psychiatric factors.

Hickie, I., Davenport, T., Wakefield, D., Vollmer-Conna, U., Cameron, B., Vernon, SD., Reeves, WC and Lloyd, A for the Dubbo Infection Outcomes Study Group. Post-infective and chronic fatigue syndromes precipitated by viral and non-viral pathogens: prospective cohort study. British Medical Journal, 2006, 333: 575, doi:10.1136/bmj.38933.585764.AE.

8. Improvements observed after CBT conducted in clinical settings are less impressive than those reported in publications on RCTs.

Quarmby, L., Rimes, KA., Deale, A., Wessely, S and Chalder, T. Cognitive-behaviour therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome: Comparison of outcomes within and outside the confines of a randomised controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2006, Oct 27; [Epub ahead of print], doi:10.1016/j.brat.2006.08.019.

9. Reviews of treatments are not always accurate or reliable. This is an example of one of the more biased evaluations.

Chambers, D., Bagnall, A., Hempel, S and Forbes, C. Interventions for the treatment, management and rehabilitation of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: an updated systematic review. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2006, 99, 506-520.

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