| Far from being the “Yuppie Flu” or chronic “tiredness”, depression or “burn out”, M.E. is revealing itself as a complex disorder of multiple body systems. The syndrome is characterized by unexplained, persist ant and relapsing chronic fatigue, muscle weakness and fatigue ability, extreme malaise, fuzzy head, brain dysfunction and many other distressing symptoms such as muscle and joint pain and migraine type headaches.
M.E. strikes with impunity with no preference for any particular ethnicity, social class or gender. Although the illness affects more women than men, as in other immune dysfunction disorders, M.E. strikes males and females of all ages. The illness is registered by the World Health Organization, Departments of Health around the world and is recognized by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta as one of the prevalent chronic diseases of our time. The Syndrome is not fully understood and its exact cause is unknown. Research suggests that a person succumbs to M.E. after exposure to a trigger factor such as a virus, an immunization, a toxin or some other precipitator. An abnormal immune response to a trigger is believed to occur in genetically disposed individuals.
There is as yet, no definitive blood test to indicate M.E. and diagnosis is done on careful examination and history taking, guided by the diagnostic criteria published by the CDC (Fakuda et al December 1994). With increasing attention and funding into worldwide research, many international studies are showing exciting developments.
M.E. is a serious debilitating illness that disrupts families, destroys lives and has immeasurable cost to the economy. Those whose lives are affected by M.E. need support and understanding. |
