title: Chronic fatigue syndrome: an update.
abstract: Among the many patients who seek medical care for the complaint of fatigue, a small number suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). CFS is a poorly understood condition characterized by debilitating fatigue and associated symptoms lasting at least six months. Studies indicate that the illness is not simply a manifestation of an underlying psychiatric disorder, but rather is an illness characterized by activation of the immune system, various abnormalities of several hypothalamic-pituitary axes, and reactivation of certain infectious agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Komaroff
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Buchwald
mesh_terms: D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000821:virology; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000503:physiopathology; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis