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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

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Fatigue Science for Human Health

Abstract

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an operational concept for clarifying the unknown etiology of the syndrome characterized by the sensation of abnormally prolonged fatigue. The vast majority of patients with CFS are interrupted in their daily or social lives by prolonged fatigue, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, sleep disturbance, or brain dysfunctions. However, the pathogenesis of CFS remains unclear, and so there are still many medical doctors around the world who are skeptical about the disease.

Recently, we organized a study group of Japanese investigators from various fields, such as virology, immunology, endocrinology, physiology, biochemistry, psychiatry, and neuroscience, and as a result of the efforts of this group the mechanism underlying CFS is now becoming a little clearer. We are now able to suggest that CFS can be understood to be a special condition based on an abnormality of the psycho-neuro-endocrino-immunological system caused by psycho-social stress, and which has some genetic components. A reactivation of various types of herpes virus infections and/or chronic mycoplasma infection might occur as a result of immune dysfunction, causing the abnormal production of several cytokines. A distinctive feature of CFS is thought to be a secondary brain dysfunction caused by the abnormal production of such cytokines.

In this chapter, we would like to introduce not only the recent findings on the pathogenesis of CFS, but also the prevalence, diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis of CFS in Japan.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Science, Faculty of Health Science for Welfare, Kansai University of Welfare Sciences, 3-11-1 Asahigaoka, Kasiwara, Osaka, 582-0026, Japan

    Hirohiko Kuratsune

  2. Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan

    Yasuyoshi Watanabe

Authors
  1. Hirohiko Kuratsune
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  2. Yasuyoshi Watanabe
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Imaging Research Program, RIKEN, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan

    Yasuyoshi Watanabe M.D., Ph.D. (Program Director and Professor) (Program Director and Professor)

  2. Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-machi, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan

    Yasuyoshi Watanabe M.D., Ph.D. (Program Director and Professor) (Program Director and Professor)

  3. Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet at Karolinska, University Hospital Huddinge, SE-141 86, Stockholm, Sweden

    Birgitta Evengård M.D. (Professor, Senior Consultant) (Professor, Senior Consultant)

  4. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, SE-901 85, Umeå, Sweden

    Birgitta Evengård M.D. (Professor, Senior Consultant) (Professor, Senior Consultant)

  5. New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA

    Benjamin H. Natelson M.D. (Professor of Neurosciences) (Professor of Neurosciences)

  6. Center for Community Research, DePaul University, 990 West Fullerton, Suite 3100, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA

    Leonard A. Jason Ph.D. (Professor and Director) (Professor and Director)

  7. Department of Health Science, Faculty of Health Science for Welfare, Kansai University of Welfare Sciences, 3-11-1 Asahigaoka, Kashiwara, Osaka, 582-0026, Japan

    Hirohiko Kuratsune M.D., Ph.D. (Professor) (Professor)

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Kuratsune, H., Watanabe, Y. (2008). Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In: Watanabe, Y., Evengård, B., Natelson, B.H., Jason, L.A., Kuratsune, H. (eds) Fatigue Science for Human Health. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-73464-2_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-73464-2_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo

  • Print ISBN: 978-4-431-73463-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-4-431-73464-2

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