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Article: Monitoring energy levels in chronic fatigue syndrome.
- Article from:
- The Psychological Record
- Article date:
- September 22, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 The Psychological Record. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Thousands of Americans have become afflicted with a puzzling and debilitating disease called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) (Bell, 1991; Fisher, 1987; Goldstein, 1990; Jason, Fitzgibbon, et al., 1993; Jason, Taylor, et al., 1993). The most prominent symptom is persistent fatigue for at least six months (Holmes et al., 1988).
One promising theory of the etiology of CFS is that any of a number of infectious agents might alter immune response in genetically vulnerable people. With the immune system affected, other viruses that are normally controlled begin to replicate. In an attempt to attack these viruses, the immune system produces cytokines (e.g., interleukin-2) and ...