Chronic fatigue syndrome: Changes in brain chemistry found

New research uncovers molecular changes in the brain that are specific to chronic fatigue syndrome and Gulf War illness — two conditions that were believed to be purely psychological until recently.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and Gulf War illness (GWI) share many symptoms, among which are muscle pain, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, disrupted sleep, sore throat, headaches, and general malaise after physical exercise.
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CFS has long been mistaken for a mental health disorder. In 2015, a National Academy of Medicine-led comprehensive review of scientific literature and patients’ accounts cautioned, “Many healthcare providers are skeptical about the seriousness of [CFS], mistake it for a mental health condition, or consider it a figment of the patient’s imagination.”

It also urged, “[H]ealthcare providers should acknowledge [CFS] as a serious illness that requires timely diagnosis and appropriate care.” The review also pointed to what were at the time unclear biological causes for CFS.

Though significant progress has been made in the way that CFS is perceived and diagnosed in the medical community, there is still no known cure for the illness, and its causes remain unknown.

New research, however, offers hope for prompter and more accurate diagnoses of the illness, as molecular changes in the brain are discovered. Between 836,000 and 2.5 million people in the United States live with CFS, according to the latest estimates, and the findings may help these people to get effective treatment more quickly.Additionally, the new study — which was led by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. — identified changes in brain chemistry that occur in GWI, a disease that is thought to have affected approximately 175,000 war veterans returning from the Gulf War.

Dr. James N. Baraniuk, a professor of medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, led the new research, and the findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.