OCTOBER 1999

THE CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME A CONDITION WHICH BRUTALLY MANIFESTS ITSELF You have been lagging for weeks ? You are very very tired ? So you think, that's it, I am suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. Well, no ! Since if you did, the simple fact of going from the bed to the bathroom would be a major effort. You would have the impression of having the flu for several months, or even years. Myalgic encephalomyelitis, the scientific name for the chronic fatigue syndrome was born in the mid-eighties. It is a chronic disease for which no specific treatment exists so far. It does not kill, but can ruin your life. It begins suddently, most often by an ordinary viral infection. One day, we feel as though we have a slight flu. It is the beginning : sore throat, joint pain and an extreme tiredness will last for three, four, ten or twenty five years…(Other known trigerrers : vaccination, surgery, accident). There are no simple examination to detect the CFS. The symptoms are numerous and studied separately, they may be confused with those of other diseases. The physicians must therefore apply an exclusive diagnostic. At least six of the following symptoms must be constantly present or at relapse for at least six months, and must not have preceded the fatigue : myalgias, joint pain, sensitive cervical or axillary ganglions, fatigue for more than twenty four hours after exercising (even light exercise) and unproportionnally with the effort done, sore throat, neuropsychiatric problems (difficulty concentrating, mood swings, transitory sight problems, etc..), restless sleep, unexplained muscular weakness, fever. According to Doctor Denis Phaneuf, a microbiologist specialized in infections at the Hotel Dieu CHUM, these symptoms are the result of an hyperreaction from the immune system. " When we get the flu, our defense mechanisms starts its action, as he explains. After three or four days, our system knows it has won the battle. Our production of lymphocytes CD38 (our immune system warriors) may then decrease. With the chronic fatigue syndrome, one year later, the level of lymphocytes CD38 is still maximal. As well as the pain and extreme fatigue. It is as though the fighter cells would not send the right message says Dr. Denis Phaneuf. This mysterious condition often occurs in intensely active persons. Hence the name of yuppie flu. Eight out of ten victims are very active white females in their thirties. The reason, women's immune system is more reactive than men's. They are more subject to auto-immune diseases (that provide antibodies against their own constituants). Women who are professsionals suffer more often from CFS as they are in contact with more individuals, which hightens the chances of viral transmission. Often considered as an imaginary depressive yuppie disease, the CFS is now described by the World Health Organisation as a severe neurologic disease and has been recently officially recognized by the Québec physicians college. Sonia Faggion Source : L'AFEM, Cybersciences, France pratique.