Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, including details on myalgic encephalomyelitis (me), diagnosis, gradual and sudden onset.

Fatigue in patients with chronic heart failure - A burden associated with emotional and symptom distress.

Falk K, Patel H, Swedberg K, Ekman I

Institute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Sweden.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between experience of fatigue and emotional and symptom distress in chronic heart failure (CHF) needs to be thoroughly explored, because fatigue has major impact on daily activities in life. AIMS: The purpose was to examine the association between fatigue, as a multidimensional experience and anxiety, depression and symptom distress, and to explore the relationships between individual symptoms and the dimensions of fatigue in patients with CHF. METHODS: A consecutive sample of 112 patients with exacerbation of symptoms of CHF answered the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20), the Hospital Depression and Anxiety (HAD) Scale and the Symptom Distress Scale (SDS). RESULTS: Anxiety was associated with mental fatigue, whereas depression was associated with reduction of activity, low motivation and decreased functioning. Physical fatigue was affected by symptom distress, with women reporting more distress than men. With exception of breathlessness, poor agreement was found between fatigue and the most intensive reported symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between emotional distress and the experience of fatigue in patients with CHF may have a devastating affect on the patient's ability to cope and manage daily activities, including self-care and adherence to recommended treatment.

Published 21 August 2008 in Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

Articles on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome published 19 August 2008:

Nocturnal noninvasive ventilation in addition to rehabilitation in hypercapnic COPD patients.   Thorax.

Rationale: Long-term noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) might improve the outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation in severe COPD patients with chronic respiratory failure. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether nocturnal NIPPV in addition to pulmonary rehabilitation as compared to pulmonary rehabilitation alone improves health-related quality of life, functional status, and gas exchange in COPD patients with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure. Measurements: Seventy-two COPD patients ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome published 18 August 2008:

Bayesian biomarker identification based on marker-expression proteomics data.   Genomics.

We are studying variable selection in multiple regression models in which molecular markers and/or gene-expression measurements as well as intensity measurements from protein spectra serve as predictors for the outcome variable (i.e., trait or disease state). Finding genetic biomarkers and searching genetic-epidemiological factors can be formulated as a statistical problem of variable selection, in which, from a large set of candidates, a small number of trait-associated predictors are ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome published 15 August 2008:

POTS versus deconditioning: the same or different?   Clin Auton Res.

The 2007 Streeten Lecture focused on the idea that physical deconditioning plays a key role in the symptomology and pathophysiology of POTS. Parallels were drawn between the physiological responses to orthostatic stress seen in POTS patients and the physiological responses seen in "normal" humans after prolonged periods of bedrest, deconditioning, or space flight. Additionally, the idea that endurance exercise training might ameliorate some of these symptoms was also advanced. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome published 14 August 2008:

Implementing cognitive behavior therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome in mental health care: a costs and outcomes analysis.   BMC Health Serv Res, 8(1): 175.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: This study investigated the costs and outcomes of implementing cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in a mental health center (MHC). CBT is an evidence-based treatment for CFS that was scarcely available until now. To investigate the possibilities for wider implementation, a pilot implementation project was set up. METHOD: Costs and effects were evaluated in a non-controlled before- and after study with an eight months time-horizon. Both the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome published 13 August 2008:

World Congress on Biomimetics, Artificial Muscles and Nano-Bio 2007.   Bioinspir Biomim, 3(3): 30202.

Life-biological cells and organs-combines technological elegance with great efficiency in transforming chemical energy at constant temperature into functions. Inside any living cell thousands of simultaneous reactions occur. Every reaction promotes changes in intramolecular and intermolecular interactions. Most of those reactions link conformational changes of biopolymers with ionic and electronic movements pushing water flow. Living cells are constituted by reactive, soft and wet materials. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome published 12 August 2008:

Physical frailty in older persons is associated with Alzheimer disease pathology.   Neurology, 71(7): 499-504.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the extent to which physical frailty in older persons is associated with common age-related brain pathology, including cerebral infarcts, Lewy body pathology, and Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology. METHODS: We studied brain autopsies from 165 deceased participants from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a longitudinal clinical-pathologic study of aging. Physical frailty, based on four components, including grip strength, time to walk 8 feet, body composition, and fatigue, ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome published 11 August 2008:

Cytokines and pathological sleep.   Sleep Med, 9(6): 603-14.

Cytokines are proteins produced by leukocytes and other cells that function as intercellular mediators acting on several target tissues, resulting in multiple biologic actions. Over the last decade, medical research has explored the interaction between cytokines and sleep disorders. The aim of this review is to illustrate recent advances in knowledge about the relationship between cytokines and disorders of excessive sleepiness. Cytokines may have an important role in mediating excessive ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Pilot Study of Peripheral Muscle Function in Primary Biliary Cirrhosis: Potential Implications for Fatigue Pathogenesis.   Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is characterized in 95% of patients by autoantibody responses directed against the mitochondrial antigen pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC). Although anti-PDC inhibits PDC function in vitro, mitochondrial function in vivo in PBC has not been examined. METHODS: (31)P magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed in PBC patients (n = 15) and fatigued (chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, n = 8), cholestatic (primary ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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