Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an illness characterised by prolonged, debilitating fatigue and multiple non-specific symptoms such as headaches, recurrent sore throats, muscle and joint pains and memory and concentration difficulties. Profound fatigue, the hallmark of the disorder, can come on suddenly or gradually and persists or recurs throughout the period of illness. Unlike the short-term disability of say, the flu, CFS symptoms linger for at least six months and often for years. No one knows what causes it.

The typical patient seeking medical care for CFS is a woman in her mid-20s to late 40s. However, anyone at any age – male or female – can develop CFS, though cases reported in children under 12 are rare.

CFS does not appear to be a new illness, although it has only recently been assigned the name CFS. It is also known as myalgic encephalitis (ME). It is an uncommon illness, and although many adults complain of feeling tired only a few genuinely have CFS. It affects approximately 250,000 people in the UK.

Interest in what now is called CFS was renewed in the mid-1980s after several studies found slightly higher levels of antibody to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in patients with CFS-like symptoms than in healthy individuals. Most of these patients had experienced an episode of infectious mononucleosis (sometimes called glandular fever) a few years before they began to experience the chronic, debilitating symptoms of CFS.

Further investigation revealed that elevated EBV antibodies were not indicators of CFS. Some healthy people have high EBV antibodies and some people with CFS do not. Currently, it is not considered useful to test for antibodies to EBV in a patient with symptoms suggestive of CFS.

Some studies have found that allergies are significantly more common in CFS patients than in the general population. Many sufferers have a history of allergies years before the onset of the syndrome. Sometimes patients report a worsening of allergic symptoms or the onset of new allergies after becoming ill with CFS. Because allergies are so common in people with CFS, it is important to identify symptoms caused by allergies so they can be treated independently.

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Chronic fatigue syndrome