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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was first identified in 1988. It was met with skepticism because the disorder seemed to affect young, urban professionals and earned the moniker "yuppie flu". Doubt is still prominent about the validity of the disorder among the public and even some medical professionals, however Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is real. There is no cure, no standard treatment, no defined cause and lasts for years. In fact, some people struggle with the symptoms for years before receiving the diagnosis.

There is not even consensus in the medical community about which causes can be ruled out. In the early years, the most prominent theory about CFS was that it was related to the Epstein-Barr virus, and was often called chronic Epstein-Barr syndrome. Most researchers are unwilling to rule out a connection to the virus, but no study has been able to nail down an actual cause and effect relationship.

CFS is a diagnosis of elimination, that is, physicians do their best to rule out other disorders that may be causing the symptoms. Once those possibilities are dismissed, a diagnosis is made. There are many other diseases and conditions that cause symptoms like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome including lupus, AIDS, lyme disease, fibromyalgia, Hepatitis C, and hypothyroidism.

Physician's abilities to effectively treat patients with CFS are hampered by the lack of a cause. Research is being conducted world wide into the causes, treatments and diagnostic tests. In early 2009, the United States National Institutes of Health listed 12 studies actively recruiting volunteers. They include pharmaceutical interventions, sleep studies, diagnostic tests and cognitive therapy, journaling and simple questionnaires.

Listed below are the results of five research studies between 2007 and 2009.

An article published in the June, 2007 issue of Nippon Rinsho, Japanese journal of clinical medicine announced that scientists at the Department of Stress Science, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School identified nine genes that were significantly and different in CFS patients as opposed to healthy subjects." That information was independently confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A study published in the May, 2008 issue of the Journal of Healthy Psychology titled "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Male Gulf War Veterans and Civilians challenges the theory that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be attributed to a single cause. Researchers from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey compared a group of 45 male veterans with 84 civilians. The civilians were more likely to develop Chronic Fatigue Syndrome suddenly, as if they came down with the flu, than the veterans did. Civilians were also more likely to exhibit symptoms of fibromyalgia as a comorbid disorder than the veterans were.

Scientists in Japan & China evaluated the results of several neuroimaging studies between 1992 and 2007. They found that patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome "have structural or functional abnormalities within the brain." They released their findings in the Journal of International Medical Research, September 2008. Along with the objective results of the study, they recommend that further research should concentrate on the central nervous system.

Scientists at the Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, St George's University of London, London, UK have been researching the role genetics may play in the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In the December 2008 issue of Current Rheumatol Reports, they identified "five human genes as possible targets for specific therapy." They strongly believe that "Development of a diagnostic test for subtype status is now a priority."

The Journal of the American Medical Association released a report linking childhood trauma with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome on January 5, 2009. Doctors at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta studied a group of 113 people with CFS against a group of 124 healthy individuals. They found that "abnormalities in the interaction between the nervous system and endocrine systemappears to be associated with childhood trauma in those with chronic fatigue syndrome, suggesting a biological pathway by which early experiences influence adult vulnerability to illness...Exposure to trauma was associated with a six-fold increase in the risk of having the condition..."

Research into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is ongoing and extensive. The fields of study are diverse and include neurology, infectious diseases, psychiatry and genetics to name just a few. More than 20 years after Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was officially recognized, researchers have been unable to identify the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The good news is that the rising mountain of evidence conclusively establishes the disorder as a genuine condition.

Learn more about this author, Piper Wilson.
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