“We just needed to put to rest, once and for all, the idea that this is just psychosomatic or that people were making this up, or that they were just lazy,” said Ellen Wright Clayton, professor of pediatrics and law at Vanderbilt University. Clayton was the chair of the committee of the Institute of Medicine, health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
Chronic fatigue syndrome may affect as many as 2.5 million Americans, yet the cause is still unknown, and more research is needed to narrow down options for sufferers. According to the panel, there are three critical symptoms for chronic fatigue syndrome, also called myalgic encephalomyelitis. They symptoms include:
- Sharp reduction in the ability to engage in pre-illness activity levels that lasts for more than six months accompanied by a chronic sense of fatigue that has only recently developed.
- Worsening symptoms after any type of exertion, whether physical, cognitive, or caused by emotional stress
- Fatigue that is not refreshed by sleep in the sufferer.
Causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Although much is left to be learned about CFS, doctors have studied a number of factors that may contribute to the onset of the disease. Among them: