Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has a genetic basis

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has a genetic basis
ATLANTA, GA - US researchers have said that chronic fatigue syndrome is caused by several genetic mutations that hamper the ability of the central nervous system to deal with stress. The study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that minute changes in the nervous system prevent the person from bouncing back after dealing with everyday stressful situations.

The study monitored 227 people with chronic fatigue syndrome in Wichita, Kansas. These patients were evaluated for nervous ailments and underwent a battery of blood and urine tests. Reporting as a collection of 14 articles in the April issue of Pharmacogenomics, the researchers say that all patients had a high level of allostatic load. This load is a collection of stress hormones, blood pressure and other effects of everyday stress.

"People with CFS are as impaired, as a whole, as people with MS [multiple sclerosis], as people with AIDS, as people undergoing chemotherapy for cancer," said Dr. William Reeves, a CDC specialist on the issue. Previously notions of fatigue were dismissed as hysterical overreaction among people.

"One of the common stereotypes is that this is a bunch of hysterical, upper class professional white women who are seeing physicians and have a mass hysteria," Dr Reeves agreed. These new results are path breaking, he added. About 1 million Americans suffered from this syndrome, he felt.

"Knowing that there is now a biological basis for CFS will help us identify ways to more effectively diagnose the illness and to come up with more effective treatments, including cognitive behavioral therapy, medications, or a combination of both," Reeves explained.

The new study is one of the several over the last few months that have linked CFS to certain genes. However, it will be some time before the biological pathways involved are identified. The US government says that an average American loses $20,000 in earnings or savings by missing work due to CFS.