First Diagnostic Test For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Identified
For years, chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome , has been undetectable by traditional tests that check the function of major organs or examine blood and immune cell counts. For these very sick patients, test results often come back normal, giving doctors few clues on how to proceed.
But now, patients with the devastating disease which causes debilitating fatigue, flu-like symptoms and something called post-exertional malaise, a condition that causes any symptoms to worsen after exerting even small amounts of effort may find vindication in a newly identified diagnostic test that provides the first scientific evidence of the disease.
A paper describing the research findings appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Ron Davis, PhD, professor of biochemistry and of genetics, is the senior author. Rahim Esfandyarpour, PhD, a former Stanford research associate who is now on the faculty of the University of California-Irvine, is the lead author.
When I spoke with Davis, he told me about how his experience as a father who has watched his once-healthy son Whitney decline set him on a new path as a scientist to learn as much as he can about ME/CFS. He launched the Stanford Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Center in 2013.
So too is Davis son.
As we describe in our release:
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Key Points About Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by profound tiredness.
- Symptoms often worsen with physical or mental activity.
- In addition to severe fatigue, symptoms include light sensitivity, headache, muscle and joint pain, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, and depression.
- Treatments may include medicines, exercise, supplements, and counseling.
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Oral And Dental Issues
Dental and orofacial problems are found in many young people with ME/CFS, but are often neglected because the young patient is too ill to make dental office visits. Correction of dental problems can improve overall health. Commonly reported problems are xerostomia , dental caries, periodontal disease, bruxism, temporomandibular joint disorder and impacted third molar teeth.
Dental visits can be stressful, result in lingering discomfort and debilitating fatigue and recovery can be prolonged. Young patients with ME/CFS and orthostatic problems might not tolerate prolonged sitting in the dental chair and some young patients have difficulty in maintaining an open mouth for the duration of dental treatment.
During dental procedures, discomfort can be minimized by the use of a mouth prop to maintain an open posture of the mouth. The smallest size mouth prop that is effective should be used. Dentists also need to be familiar with the clinical features of OI and be prepared to treat patients at risk of developing syncope. Treatment planning of elective dentistry in more extensive cases should allow time between appointments to recover from fatigue.
Treatment for dental caries and periodontal disease follows standard dental practice. For those who might be concerned about whether mercury amalgam fillings should be avoided, all scientific and medical/dental organizations support the safety of amalgam.
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Treat Your Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Testing for chronic fatigue syndrome is definitely recommended and certainly helps to diagnose the condition. After testing is completed, a few different treatments can be used, including medication, getting plenty of rest, and natural remedies. To learn more about this condition and treatment options available for you, contact us at Medical Transformation Center in Louisville, KY today.
Will I Still Be Able To Work With Me/cfs
Research shows that about half of people with ME/CFS work part-time or full-time jobs. For some people with ME/CFS, the ability to work is possible thanks to a supportive employer and certain workplace accommodations, including a flexible schedule, a quiet comfortable place to rest, and memory aids.
But, if you cant work because of ME/CFS, you may be eligible for Social Security benefits. Learn more about applying for disability through the Social Security Administration.
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How Is Cfs Treated
Theres currently no specific cure for CFS.
Each person has different symptoms and therefore may require different types of treatment to manage the disorder and relieve their symptoms.
Work with your team of healthcare providers to create the best treatment plan for you. They can go over the possible benefits and side effects of the therapies with you.
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Next Steps To Consider
If you feel like youve tried everything for your own fatigue but gotten nowhere, I hope this post helps you get to the bottom of the issue. Ive found these tests invaluable on my own health journey include most of these in my comprehensive 3 and 5 month programs.
Have any of these tests helped you uncover the root cause of your own fatigue? Please share in the comments!
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Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Myalgic encephalomyelitis , commonly referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome , is a complex disorder characterized by unexplained and persistent fatigue lasting longer than six months. It is estimated that ME/CFS affects between 12.4 million people in the US. Symptoms can include memory loss or the inability to concentrate, mild fever, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, headaches, non-restorative sleep and depression. These symptoms overlap a wide range of medical conditions commonly associated with ME/CFS including anemia, anxiety, autoimmune diseases, depression, endocrine disorders, fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, mononucleosis, sleep apnea and persistent viral or bacterial infections.
Fatigue is one of the most common complaints in primary care, with up to 33% of patients complaining about long-lasting exhaustion and tiredness. For one third of these patients, the etiology of this fatigue cannot be identified.
If I Dont Have Any Of These Disorders Do I Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Its possible. First, though, go over the list at the top to see if youve been sleeping poorly recently, been under a lot of stress, if youve been very inactive lately, , if your diet has worsened, or if youve recently been put on a new medication
The fatigue, it should be noted, in ME/CFS is often immense, and is always accompanied by something called post-exertional malaise or PEM. PEM refers to a dramatic worsening of symptoms after exertion that sometimes takes a day or two to appear.
Only a physician can diagnose you with ME/CFS. In the meantime learn more about the symptoms found in ME/CFS, and check out the CDCs page on ME/CFS.
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Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
In a case-series study, Kakuda and colleagues applied facilitatory high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of 7 CFS patients over 3 days 5 patients completed the 3-day protocol without any adverse events . For the other 2 patients, these researchers had to reduce the stimulation intensity in response to mild AEs. In most of the patients, treatment resulted in an improvement of fatigue symptoms. The authors concluded that high-frequency rTMS applied over the DLPFC can therefore be a potentially useful therapy for CFS patients. They stated that further large-scale studies are needed to confirm the therapeutic benefits of high-frequency rTMS, determine the optimal cortical target area and find the optimal duration and intensity of treatment for CFS.
Disability Evaluation Under Social Security
The Social Security Administration has prepared an online guide Disability Evaluation Under Social Securityexternal icon to provide physicians and other health professionals with an understanding of how its disability programs are administered. The guide explains how these programs work and lists the kinds of information that health professionals can provide to help ensure sound decisions on claims. It also includes links to the Listing of Impairments that SSA uses as part of the disability determination process.
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How Do I Know If Im At Risk
While there is no explanation as to why a particular person may experience chronic fatigue syndrome, there are several factors that play an important role in influencing someones likelihood of being diagnosed with CFS. These risk factors include:
- Age: Most individuals with CFS will receive an official diagnosis when they are between 40 and 50 years old.
- Gender: Women are diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome two to four times more often than men.
- Genetics: It is commonly accepted that certain individuals are born with a predisposition to CFS.
- Stress levels: Inability to effectively manage stress can contribute to the development of CFS.
- Prior health concerns: While there is no clear link, evidence suggests that individuals who suffer from a compromised immune system, abnormal hormone levels, human herpes virus 6, Epstein-Barr virus, or mouse leukemia viruses may be more likely to become affected by CFS.
How To Boost Energy Faster
It is important to know that the human body is mostly made up of water. So if you can bump up your water intake and match it up with some easy-to-do home-based exercises, you can count on a positive change in a shorter time frame
Dehydration in your body can drop your blood sugar levels rather quickly, thus pushing the body to work harder into supplying oxygen and nutrients to all cells. This would court more expense of energy and would make you exhausted even faster.
Drinking enough water every day would also boost your metabolism rate with amazing results and help you feel more energetic at times. It may also help you get rid of health issues like mental fog, poor concentration, dizziness, and short-term memory.
Here are some of the best tricks you can try to boost your energy and vitality.
1. Aromatherapy
Grab some dried rosemary and crush it up in your hand. You can hold this under your nose, or boil it into a rosemary tea and let the steam from the tea rise gently over your face. The smell of this herb will help stimulate your mind and give you energy.
2. Cover Your Face with a Cold Washcloth
Soak a washcloth in icy water, wring it out, and then place the cold cloth over your face. The cool temperature will stimulate your facial muscles and your mind, giving you renewed energy. You may do this multiple times in a day to feel rejuvenated.
3. Get some sunlight
4. Go for a brisk walk
5. Drink green tea
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How Is Me/cfs Treated
Right now, there is no cure or FDA-approved treatments for ME/CFS. But, there are things you and your doctor can do to help ease your symptoms. Because the symptoms of ME/CFS vary from person to person, the management plan you discuss with your doctor may look very different from the plan of another person with ME/CFS.
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Small Fiber Neuropathy And Dysautonomia
Chronic inflammation may damage nerve fibers that help control circulation, a condition called small fiber neuropathy. The damaged fibers, seen in skin biopsies, are associated with dysautonomia, a malfunction of automatic functions like heart rate, breathing, and digestion that is very common in long Covid patients.Keller
Just one small study provides evidence of small fiber neuropathy in long COVID, but many studies indicate its present in ME/CFS/FM. Keller, interestingly, embraces Systroms and others hypothesis that the SFN found in the skin is the most obvious but least troubling manifestation of an issue that has body-wide consequences and which includes the diversion of blood away from the muscles.
Dysautonomia, of course, is a common theme in ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and appears to be present in long COVID as well. Lower heart rate variability ratings that are indicative of sympathetic nervous system dominance, are found in ME/CFS, FM, POTS, and long COVID. A simple standing test that stresses the autonomic nervous system has been proposed as a diagnostic test by ME/CFS practitioners, and reduced heart rate variability measures were predictive of poor sleep.
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How Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Is Diagnosed
The path to a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome can be frustrating. The condition is characterized by its symptoms and there is no single test that can confirm it. Complicating the issue even further is the fact that many CFS symptoms mirror those of other illnesses, including heart, lung, thyroid, and even psychiatric disorders.
As a disease, chronic fatigue syndrome is diagnosed when other possible explanations for how you are feeling have been explored and excluded.
The condition is also called myalgic encephalomyelitis or systemic exertion intolerance disease .
Biomarker For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Identified
Stanford scientists devised a blood-based test that accurately identified people with chronic fatigue syndrome, a new study reports.
Ron Davis is the senior author of a paper that describes a blood test that may be able to identify chronic fatigue syndrome.Steve Fisch
People suffering from a debilitating and often discounted disease known as chronic fatigue syndrome may soon have something theyve been seeking for decades: scientific proof of their ailment.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have created a blood test that can flag the disease, which currently lacks a standard, reliable diagnostic test.
Too often, this disease is categorized as imaginary, said Ron Davis, PhD, professor of biochemistry and of genetics. When individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome seek help from a doctor, they may undergo a series of tests that check liver, kidney and heart function, as well as blood and immune cell counts, Davis said. All these different tests would normally guide the doctor toward one illness or another, but for chronic fatigue syndrome patients, the results all come back normal, he said.
A paper describing the research findings was published online April 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Davis is the senior author. Esfandyarpour, who is now on the faculty of the University of California-Irvine, is the lead author.
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What Causes Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
The underlying cause of ME/CFS is still not well understood. Prior to a ME/CFS diagnosis, patients are mostly healthy, fully functional and have a good quality of life.
- Approximately 50-80% of people with ME/CFS start suddenly with a flu-like illness.
- ME/CFS is often found after infection by a virus, bacterium, or parasite, suggesting an immunological dysfunction, accompanied by a strong genetic predisposition, as shown in twin analysis.
- Viral involvement is a well-supported theory due to the high index of an infectious onset in at least half of the patients.
- Life stressors can cause a negative impact on the neuroendocrine circuits of stress, leading to other complications besides immunological impairment.
- In addition to immune and viral aetiology, the attenuation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis is documented in adult and adolescent ME/CFS patients, with marked evidence of systemic hypocortisolism, which can influence immunological and neuronal homeostasis.
- Studies have reported enhanced sympathetic nervous activity, as well as increased levels of catecholamines in ME/CFS, providing some evidence for a neuroactive pattern in the pathophysiology of ME/CFS.
When To See The Doctor
Dont misjudge CFS as AIDS or HIV, where you may prefer to stay anonymous its not contagious! So, be open and communicative about your symptoms with family and your doctor.
Remember, at the very beginning, patients dont look bad so before seeing a GP or a family doctor think carefully of the signs.
Being partying for a few days will make you sick the same with some extra night shifts at work take a few more days to restore, and youll be okay.
Also, its about unexplained muscle pain. You may stop working out when something goes wrong and look at your lifestyle from the other perspective. As a premeditative go to a massage specialist or see a rheumatologist .
What I meant in the above said find the reasons to exclude other diseases which may be causing you CFS-like symptoms.
It wont take years to check yourself before consultation about a CFS, you need to provide a list of specialists youve already seen. To save time for you and the doctor, its best to maintain a daily journal.
A final point dont listen to friends or a family who are not helpful or not available to see you and listen to you. They will mostly tell you to look good and blame you that you are lazy. But if extreme tiredness is chasing you for months, plan a doctors appointment.
Tip: Although some believe it does, remember the science has not proven that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy helps in the treatment of CFS.
History and Research Basis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Men vs Women
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