Who Are Likely To Get Chronic Fatigue Symptoms

Are the chronic fatigue syndrome causes mental or physical? This question plagues every CFS sufferer who feels misunderstood by his or her peers. Part of the problem is the lack of medical tests to diagnose this condition. "Diagnosis of the syndrome, generally follows eliminating every other possible cause, which leads some to speculate that the condition isn't real," explains Dr. Brian MacIntosh from the Faculty of Kinesiology. "One thing we know is that CFS sufferers feel profound fatigue and worsening of other symptoms following even moderate physical activity." He hopes, through research, that scientists can answer some important health questions about CFS. Just recently, new links have been uncovered to shed some light on this mysterious condition.

Previously, the causes of chronic fatigue syndrome were believed to have a genetic link. Researchers saw there were genes involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system that were altered. These genes control a patient's response to trauma, injury and other stressful events, so the abnormalities discovered could have plausibly affected immune system function, cell communication and cellular energy transfer. Patients with CFS have many different gene differences, but there hasn't been a single gene responsible for the medical symptoms associated with CFS.

Another one of the proposed chronic fatigue syndrome causes has to do with abnormalities of the central nervous system and hormones. Abnormal chemical levels in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis may be one cause of chronic fatigue medical symptoms, scientists have posited. For instance, some patients with CFS have abnormally high levels of seratonin (a chemical messenger in the brain) and abnormally low levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter associated with sleep and feelings of reward). In other cases, CFS patients have imbalances between norepinephrine and dopamine levels or lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Fatigue can also be caused by a disturbed sleep-wake cycle, researchers add.

The most recent chronic fatigue syndrome causes are reported to be viral. In October 2009, researchers published a study in the Science Express journal that found two-thirds of patients with chronic fatigue are also infected with a retrovirus called XMRV. Most viruses don't linger long in the body, but a retrovirus — like HIV or XMRV — can inhibit genetic material and stick around indefinitely. Some research has found a link between certain types of cancer and this retrovirus as well. For now, it's too soon to say whether this medical news can conclusively say XMRV is the cause of chronic fatigue or not. Even so, some patients say this finding is "the best news ever," says Annette Whittemore of the Whittemore-Peterson Institute. "We've always known there was something out there. Now we see its face," she explains.

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