#52 Brief Brussels report / Brain scan study
CFS-NEWS Electronic Newsletter
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Electronic Newsletter
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No. 51 November 30, 1995 Washington DC
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BRIEF REPORT ON BRUSSELS CONFERENCE /
BRAIN SCAN STUDY
CONTENTS
>>>1. Brief report on Brussels conference
>>>2. Brain scan study finds bloodflow problems in CFS
>>>3. Medical publications update
>>>4. Future interviews in CFS-NEWS
[Thanks to Ellen Goudsmit for help with this edition of CFS-NEWS.
-- Editor.]
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>>>1. Brief report on Brussels conference
The CFS medical research conference in Brussels on Nov. 9-11 was
attended by about 200 people. Among the presentations were the
following:
-- several reports on Persian Gulf related illnesses, including a
preliminary report by biologist Krista Vandenborne of the
University of Pennsylvania, indicating a potential mitochondrial
impairment in Persian Gulf veterans with CFS; Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance Spectroscopy data on nine Persian Gulf veterans with severe
CFS were presented;
-- a study by T. Dinan (UK) indicating neuroendocrine problems in
CFS patients;
-- a paper by D. Costa (UK) et al. showing impaired brain perfusion
(see article number 2 below);
-- a study by Simon Wessely (UK) showing that severe infection is an
important risk factor for CFS;
-- several papers which link Borna virus (usually found in animals)
to CFS;
-- various studies showing conflicting results about the roles of
specific viruses (HHV-6, etc.)
-- a Belgian study by Brussels conference chairman K. De Meirleir
showing effectiveness of Ampligen as a treatment;
-- a study by C. Swanink (Neths.) indicating that fluoxetine
(Prozac) at 20 mg is not effective in treating CFS symptoms.
Timothy Roberts commented to CFS-NEWS that there seemed to be a
consensus that an infective event was likely the cause of CFS, and
that it was more likely viral than bacterial, despite Robert's own
presentation on the latter possibility. The work by Robert's team at
the University of Newcastle on urinary markers was well received.
There will reportedly be a conference focusing on CFS and
organochlorines to be held in Britain in 1996, being organized by L.
Cooper. Roberts further commented that the general direction of
current CFS studies seemed to be influenced by psychiatric studies.
Paul Levine commented that Dinan's study on neuroendocrine problems
was particularly interesting, as was Wessely's findings regarding
infectious events associated with CFS. Benjamin Natelson commented
that all of the reports by the Netherlands team were excellent,
including those on HHV-6 and Prozac, and that Vandenborne's study of
Persian Gulf veterans was very good.
CFS-NEWS will have a more in-depth report on the Brussels conference
in a future edition, hopefully next month.
[Thanks for assistance with this report go to Dr. K. De Meirleir and
his staff, Timothy Roberts, Benjamin Natelson, Paul Levine and Krista
Vandenborne.
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>>>2. Brain scan study finds bloodflow problems in CFS
A British study of CFS patients found impaired bloodflow in the
brain. The study by D.C. Costa et al. compared 67 CFS patients with
40 normal volunteers, 10 epileptics, 20 young depressed patients, and
10 elderly depressed patients. In addition, some CFS patients were
segmented by whether they were depressed or had psychiatric
disorders. Single-photon emission tomography revealed that the CFS
patients had lower brain bloodflow than the healthy controls, and
that the CFS group was different than the depressed group when
measured for bloodflow in the brainstem in particular.
This study was published in the November edition of QJM, and the
journal citation for the article is:
Brainstem perfusion is impaired in chronic fatigue syndrome.
Costa, DC; Tannock, C; Brostoff, J. Q J Med 1995:88:767-773.
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>>>3. Medical publications update
[The following was contributed by Mr. Steve Clancy of the Science
Library of the University of California at Irvine.]
This CFS UPDATE is a review of the current, published medical
literature on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and is presented as a public
service. The presence or absence of any information in this review
should not be taken as advocating one method of treatment over
another, and should not be construed as providing medical advice or
diagnosis.
The references may be taken from various sources and should be used
for educational purposes only. Databases accessed may include the
MEDLINE online database produced by the National Library of Medicine,
as well as other online and print sources. This listing is NOT a
complete review, but represents a selection.
Many of these articles and journals will be available from libraries
in hospitals and universities. Please do not contact Steve Clancy,
or the UCI Science Library for copies of articles from this list.
Steve Clancy, M.L.S.
Science Library
University of California, Irvine, U.S.A.
(NOTE: Articles with title in brackets [ ] are not in English.)
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1. Bou-Holaigah I; Rowe PC; Kan J; Calkins H. The relationship
between neurally mediated hypotension and the chronic fatigue
syndrome. Jama, 1995 Sep 27, 274(12):961-7. UI: 95404846
2. Ziem G; Donnay A. Chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and chemical
sensitivity: overlapping disorders [letter]. Archives of Internal
Medicine, 1995 Sep 25, 155(17):1913. UI: 95408070
3. Friedberg F. Symptom of persistent fatigue [letter]. Connecticut
Medicine, 1995 Jul, 59(7):443. UI: 95401586
4. Lane RJ; Burgess AP; Flint J; Riccio M; Archard LC. Exercise
responses and psychiatric disorder in chronic fatigue syndrome.
Bmj, 1995 Aug 26, 311(7004):544-5. UI: 95392252
5. Shanks MF; Ho-Yen DO. A clinical study of chronic fatigue
syndrome. British Journal of Psychiatry, 1995 Jun, 166(6):798-801.
UI: 95392899
6. Lawrie SM; Pelosi AJ. Chronic fatigue syndrome in the community.
Prevalence and associations. British Journal of Psychiatry, 1995 Jun,
166(6):793-7. UI: 95392898
7. Murtagh J. Patient education. Chronic fatigue syndrome. Australian
Family Physician, 1995 Jul, 24(7):1297. UI: 95390891
8. Krilov LR. Chronic fatigue syndrome. Pediatric Annals, 1995 Jun,
24(6):290-2, 294. UI: 95388450
9. Mitterer M; Pescosta N; Fend F; Larcher C; Prang N; Schwarzmann F;
Coser P; Huemer HP. Chronic active Epstein-Barr virus disease in a
case of persistent polyclonal B-cell lymphocytosis. British Journal
of Haematology, 1995 Jul, 90(3):526-31. UI: 95374899
10. Di Luca D; Zorzenon M; Mirandola P; Colle R; Botta GA; Cassai E.
Human herpesvirus 6 and human herpesvirus 7 in chronic fatigue
syndrome. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 1995 Jun, 33(6):1660-61.
UI: 95378475)
11. Leitch AG. Neurasthenia, myalgic encephalitis or cryptogenic
chronic fatigue syndrome? Qjm, 1995 Jun, 88(6):447-50. UI: 95376283
12. Higgins D. Sceptical of sceptics [letter]. New Zealand Medical
Journal, 1995 Aug 11, 108(1005):324-5. UI: 95372020
13. Piko B; Barabas K; Boda K. [Epidemiology of psychosomatic
symptoms and its effect on the self-evaluation of general health in
university students]. Orvosi Hetilap, 1995 Jul 30, 136(31):1667-71.
Language: Hungarian. UI: 95365146
14. Hurel SJ; Abuiasha B; Baylis PH; Harris PE. Patients with a self
diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis [letter]. Bmj, 1995 Jul 29,
311(7000):329. UI: 95359810
15. Murdoch JC. Chronic fatigue syndrome [letter]. New Zealand
Medical Journal, 1995 Jul 28, 108(1004):301. UI: 95365100
16. Zhang C; Baumer A; Mackay IR; Linnane AW; Nagley P. Unusual
pattern of mitochondrial DNA deletions in skeletal muscle of an
adult human with chronic fatigue syndrome. Human Molecular Genetics,
1995 Apr, 4(4):751-4. UI: 95359986
17. Woodward RV; Broom DH; Legge DG. Diagnosis in chronic illness:
disabling or enabling--the case of chronic fatigue syndrome. Journal
of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1995 Jun, 88(6):325-9. UI: 95356113
18. Chalder T; Wessely S; Wallace P; Hirsch S; Wright D. Viral
illness and chronic fatigue (syndrome) [letter]. Lancet, 1995 Aug 12,
346(8972):449. UI: 95349310
19. Swanink CM; van der Meer JW; Vercoulen JH; Bleijenberg G; Fennis
JF; Galama JM. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the chronic fatigue
syndrome: normal virus load in blood and normal immunologic
reactivity in the EBV regression assay. Clinical Infectious Diseases,
1995 May, 20(5):1390-2. UI: 95345317
20. Cathebras P; Jacquin L; le Gal M; Fayol C; Bouchou K; Rousset H.
Correlates of somatic causal attributions in primary care patients
with fatigue. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 1995, 63(3-4):174-80.
UI: 95350310
21. Trigwell P; Hatcher S; Johnson M; Stanley P; House A. "Abnormal"
illness behaviour in chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple sclerosis.
Bmj, 1995 Jul 1, 311(6996):15-8. UI: 95337956
22. Baschetti R. Liquorice and chronic fatigue syndrome [letter]. New
Zealand Medical Journal, 1995 Jun 28, 108(1002):259. UI: 95342559
23. Roser Galard C; Juncadella Garcia E; Hernandez Hernandez A; Maymo
Pijuan N. [Chronic fatigue syndrome: is it ignored in primary care?
(letter)]. Atencion Primaria, 1995 May 31, 15(9):587-8. Language:
Spanish. UI: 95337278
24. Mehta VK; Blume GB. A randomized trial of fluoxetine in a patient
with persistent fatigue. Journal of the American Board of Family
Practice, 1995 May-Jun, 8(3):230-2. UI: 95343792
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>>>4. Future interviews in CFS-NEWS
CFS-NEWS will be undertaking a follow-up interview with Dr. Peter
Rowe of Johns Hopkins University on the topic on neurally mediated
hypotension testing, and treatments. CFS-NEWS welcomes suggestions
on what questions should be taken up in this upcoming interview.
Please suggest general questions, and not those that are specific to
an individual case.
Also, CFS-NEWS will soon be interviewing Ms. Kim Kenney, the
executive director of the CFIDS Association of America. Suggested
questions for Ms. Kenney about Association activities and other
matters will also be welcomed.
Please send suggestions to CFS-NEWS editor Roger Burns by:
E-mail: CFS-...@LIST.NIH.GOV
Postal mail: Roger Burns, Editor
CFS-NEWS Electronic Newsletter
2800 Quebec St. NW Suite 1242
Washington, DC 20008-1240
USA
Telephone: 1-202-966-8738
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