Myalgic encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Criteria

Abstract

Carruthers BM, van de Sande MI, De Meirleir KL, Klimas NG, Broderick G, Mitchell T, Staines D, Powles ACP, Speight N, Vallings R, Bateman L, Baumgarten-Austrheim B, Bell DS, Carlo-Stella N, Chia J, Darragh A, Jo D, Lewis D, Light AR, Marshall-Gradisbik S, Mena I, Mikovits JA, Murovska M, Pall ML, Stevens S (Independent, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Independent, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Physiology and Medicine, Vrije University of Brussels, Himmunitas Foundation, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Medicine,University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada; Honorary Consultant for NHS at Peterborough/Cambridge, Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK; Gold Coast Public Health Unit, Southport, Queensland; Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, Queensland, Australia; Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University and St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Independent, Durham, UK; Howick Health and Medical Centre, Howick, New Zealand; Fatigue Consultation Clinic, Salt Lake Regional Medical Center; Internal Medicine, Family Practice, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; ME/CFS Center, Oslo University Hospital HF, Norway; Department of Paediatrics, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY; Independent, Pavia, Italy; Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA; EV Med Research, Lomita, CA, USA; University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; Pain Clinic, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea; Donvale Specialist Medical Centre, Donvale, Victoria, Australia; Departments or Anesthesiology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, Queensland, Australia; Department of Medicina Nuclear, Clinica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile; Whittemore Peterson Institute, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA; Miwa Naika Clinic, Toyama, Japan; A. Kirchenstein Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia; Department of Biochemistry & Basic Medical Sciences, Washington State University, Portland, OR; Department of Sports Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA USA). Myalgic encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Criteria (Review). J Intern Med 2011; 270: 327–338.The label ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’ (CFS) has persisted for many years because of the lack of knowledge of the aetiological agents and the disease process. In view of more recent research and clinical experience that strongly point to widespread inflammation and multisystemic neuropathology, it is more appropriate and correct to use the term ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis’ (ME) because it indicates an underlying pathophysiology. It is also consistent with the neurological classification of ME in the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD G93.3). Consequently, an International Consensus Panel consisting of clinicians, researchers, teaching faculty and an ...

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“…The condition is currently described as a post-exertional fatigue (duration at least six months) that does not disappear after resting (Carruthers et al, 2011). The fatigue (a severe form of tiredness) is usually accompanied by malaise, dysregulation of body temperature, bowel problems, sleep disturbances, and concentration difficulties (Carruthers et al, 2011). Interchangeable labels used to describe the condition include chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS).…”

Characterising eye movement dysfunction in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome

“…Patients were recruited by local advertising. They were refunded travel expenses for volunteering and were offered rest breaks on a regular basis throughout 6 the session. Control participants were recruited from the local community and were compensated £10 for their time.…”

“…Before being admitted to the study, they completed the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire [21] which is a useful screening tool recently developed to assess for ME/CFS. Using this tool, it could be ascertained whether patients fulfilled the standard CDC Definition [8], the Canadian ME/CFS Case Definition [5], or the International Consensus ME Case Definition [6]. Table 1 contains a summary of patients' and control participants' details.…”

“…1 There are a variety of case definitions for ME/CFS [7] and the most widely used for research is the 1994 Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition [8]. Other case definitions for ME/CFS have been developed [5,6], though to date none of these definitions have been formally operationalised. Diagnosing ME/CFS is based on categorising the range of symptoms reported by patients and differentiating them from the symptoms occurring with other fatigue related illnesses.…”

“…As such, research has begun to focus more on trying to objectively quantify the symptoms that sufferers of ME/CFS commonly report with a view to delineating the condition from other illnesses, such as depression, where there may be some symptom overlap and with which patients are commonly misdiagnosed [9]. 1 For comprehensive reviews of ME/CFS, see [5,6]. 4 Patients who suffer from ME/CFS often report that they require increased mental effort, relative to that required before the onset of their illness, to complete everyday activities that require cognition.…”