Main focus: clinical trials, medical journals, possible causes and treatments, emphasis on physiological.
Most medical or scientific journals have "chronic fatigue syndrome" as a subject or topic. The most sucessful searches were in Medline, PubMed, and Academic Search Premier; Encyclopædia Britannica Online and General Science Full Text were also successful.
SJSU full text and some databases requre an SJSU login and PIN.
Medline's page on chronic fatigue syndrome. It links to the "latest news," but most of these seem to be focused more on the political or social side and not much on the medical aspects. However it also has links to related issues, clinical trials, and support groups.
From the Medline page, the list of clinical trials. Only three at the moment, but the site says it's "regularly updated," so it's probably a good one to keep an eye on.
Also from the Medline page. The Center for Disease Control's page on chronic fatigue syndrome, specifically their page on support groups. The second URL is the page for support groups in California.
"As D-ribose has been shown to increase cellular energy synthesis in heart and skeletal muscle, this open-label uncontrolled pilot study was done to evaluate if D-ribose could improve symptoms in fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome patients. ... Results: D-ribose, which was well-tolerated, resulted in a significant improvement in all five visual analog scale (VAS) categories: energy; sleep; mental clarity; pain intensity; and well-being, as well as an improvement in patients' global assessment."
Full text not available online through PubMed.
"The article reports that people with chronic fatigue syndrome were being encouraged to address their symptoms and overcome the condition as a result of nurse-led services in England."
Full Text available as a PDF.
"A major study now gives scientists an unprecedented perspective on what is awry in the bodies and brains of people who have the syndrome. And promising data on an experimental medicine indicate that the first specific drug for chronic fatigue syndrome may be nearing the market."
"Scientists are divided over a recent CDC claim that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has a biologic and genetic basis. ... In a study of 172 people that fitted the diagnostic criteria for CFS or CFS-like illness and of 55 controls, William Reeves and colleagues of the CDC found that the expression patterns of approximately 2 dozen genes involved in immune function, cell signaling, and other roles are different in CFS patients and also tie CFS to particular mutations in 3 genes."
Full text available through SJSU.
"Aim: This paper examines the reconstruction of self-identity for those experiencing CFS/ME. Method: This longitudinal qualitative study involved up to three in-depth interviews with 17 people with CFS/ME and family members. Results: A trajectory that describes transitions in identity over time and the range of elements that influence these is proposed."
Full text available through SJSU.
"The diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), an illness characterized by medically unexplained fatigue, depends on a clinical case definition representing one or more pathophysiological mechanisms. To prepare for studies of these mechanisms, this study sought to identify subtypes of CFS."
Full text available through SJSU.
"The article reports that researchers have found links between chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and genetic triggers."
Full text not available online through Academic Search Premier.
"Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is thought to have a worldwide prevalence of 0.4-1% with approximately 240,000 patients in the UK. Diagnosis is based on clinical criteria and critically depends on exclusion of other physical and psychiatric diseases. Studies of pathogenesis have revealed immune system abnormalities and chronic immune activation, dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, brain abnormalities, evidence of emotional stress (comprising host aspects) and evidence of exogenous insults, for example, various microbial infections (Epstein-Barr virus, enteroviruses, parvovirus B19, Coxiella burnetii and Chlamydia pneumoniae), vaccinations and exposure to organophosphate chemicals and other toxins (comprising environmental aspects). Emotional stress appears to be very important as it reduces the ability of the immune system to clear infections, it's presence has been shown to determine whether or not an individual develops symptoms upon virus infection, and it leads to activation of the HPA axis. But, emotional stress is distinct from depression, the presence of which precludes a diagnosis of CFS. There is no specific treatment for CFS other than the much underutilised approach of specific treatment of virus infections. Current priorities are to understand the molecular pathogenesis of disease in terms of human and virus gene expression, to develop a diagnostic test based on protein biomarkers, and to develop specific curative treatments."
Full text available through SJSU.
"The effects of treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome are outlined, the disorder is defined, its incidence and etiology are described, and the prognosis for people afflicted with the disorder is outlined."
Full text HTML page available.
"With diseases like chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, what you believe about your illness influences how sick you become." The article discusses how these are "truly mind-body diseases, in which biological and psychological causes and dysfunctions are inseparably intertwined."
A historical look at chronic fatigue syndrome, specifically looking at "the cases of two British soldiers who served in the Crimean war and in India at the time of the mutiny."
Full text available through SJSU.
"This article describes the features of chronic fatigue syndrome and, by analysis of the many clinical paradoxes which it manifests, attempts to give a unifying explanation of the cause of the disorder and a strategy for management."
Full text not available through PubMed.
The article "describes the diagnostic criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome and explains how the Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus relate to that syndrome. In addition, it addresses the psychological aspects of the syndrome and presents a case study of one woman and her attempts to cope with the symptoms of the disorder. The author concludes with a description of the challenges social workers and psychiatrists face."
Full text available through SJSU.
Bibliography
Burke, S. (1992, January). Chronic fatigue syndrome and women: can therapy help? Social Work, 37 (1), 35-9.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006, May 08). Support Groups. Retrieved November 27, 2006, from http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/cfssupport.htm.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006, November 27). Support Groups - California. Retrieved November 27, 2006, from http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/support/supp_ca.htm.
ClinicalTrials.gov. (n.d.). Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic. Retrieved November 27, 2006, from http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/gui/action/FindCondition?ui=D015673&recruiting=true.
Devanur, L., & Kerr, J. (2006, November). Chronic fatigue syndrome. Journal of Clinical Virology, 37 (3), 139-150.
Hampton, T. (2006, June). Researchers Find Genetic Clues to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 295 (21), 2466-67.
Harder, B. (2006, July). A vexing enigma. Science News, 170 (1), 10-11.
Harrison, S. (2006, September). Nurse-led teams enable quicker recovery from chronic fatigue. Nursing Standard, 21 (3), 11.
Janal, M. (2006, August). Sub-typing CFS patients on the basis of 'minor' symptoms. Biological Psychology, 73 (2), 124-131.
Jones E., & Wessely S. (1999, December). Case of chronic fatigue syndrome after Crimean war and Indian mutiny. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 319 (7225), 1645-7.
Kaiser, J. (2006, May). Genes and Chronic Fatigue: How Strong Is the Evidence? Science, 312, 669.
McCluskey, DR. (1998, August). Chronic fatigue syndrome: Its cause and a strategy for management. Comprehensive Therapy, 24 (8), 357-63.
MedlinePlus. (2006, November 06). Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Retrieved November 27, 2006, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/chronicfatiguesyndrome.html.
Reid, S., Chalder, T, & Cleare, A. (2005, November). Chronic fatigue syndrome. American Family Physician, 72 (9), 1793-1794.
Schorr, M. (2005, May-June). Is it all in my head? Psychology Today, 38 (3), 70-75.
Teitelbaum JE., Johnson C., & Cyr JS. (2006, November). The use of d-ribose in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia: a pilot study. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine, 12 (9), 857-62.
Whitehead, L. (2006, November). Toward a trajectory of identity reconstruction in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: A longitudinal qualitative study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 43 (8), 1023-31.