by Piper Wilson

Created on: January 06, 2009   Last Updated: November 16, 2010

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was first identified in 1988. It was met with skepticism because the disorder seemed to affect only young, urban professionals; earning itself the ignominious moniker "yuppie flu". Doubt is still prominent about the validity of the disorder among the public, 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 an accurate  diagnosis.

There is no consensus in the medical community about any causes that 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.  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 not a disease like lupus or tuberculosis.  It is a disorder and diagnosis is made through process of elimination; that is, physicians do their best to rule out other disorders that may be causing the symptoms. Once other possibilities are dismissed, a diagnosis of CFS 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

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