Abstract
Chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis are classified as two distinct illnesses in the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases. However, they are indistinct and comprise a series of debilitating symptoms, mainly fatigue, impaired cognition (memory difficulties) and sleep disturbances. There are still those who do not believe that this condition deserves a full credit as an independent disease entity. No biological markers have been identified and pathophysiology is uncertain. There are no objective brain abnormalities identified specific to CFS/ME. Brainstem hypoperfusion and other perfusion and metabolic abnormalities observed with functional brain imaging need further confirmation and evaluation. Success of therapeutic measures is doubtful. Further studies with more specific markers of neurotransmitter systems are warranted.
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Costa, D.C., Greco, A. (2004). Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. In: Otte, A., Audenaert, K., Peremans, K., van Heeringen, K., Dierckx, R.A. (eds) Nuclear Medicine in Psychiatry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18773-5_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18773-5_17
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