Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate deficiency in chronic fatigue syndrome.
The chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a condition of unknown etiology, characterized by a persistent debilitating fatigue, the muscle-related symptoms and the neuropsychiatric symptoms. Recently, it has been reported that the patients with CFS might have impaired activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and suggested that a part of the patho-genesis of CFS might be associated with abnormalities of the endocrine system. Herein, we show that the majority of Japanese patients with CFS had a serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) deficiency. Serum DHEA-S is one of the most abundantly produced hormones which is secreted from the adrenal glands, and its physiological function is thought to be a precursor of sex steroids. DHEA-S has recently been shown to have physiological properties, such as neurosteroids, which are associated with such psychophysiological phenomena as memory, stress, anxiety, sleep and depression. Therefore, the deficiency of DHEA-S might be related to the neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with CFS.
Kuratsune
H
H
Department of Hematology and Oncology, Osaka University Medical School, Suita city, Osaka 565, Japan.
Yamaguti
K
K
Sawada
M
M
Kodate
S
S
Machii
T
T
Kanakura
Y
Y
Kitani
T
T
D015065:17-Hydroxycorticosteroids / Q000652:urine; D015068:17-Ketosteroids / Q000652:urine; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000097:blood; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood*; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male
D015065:17-Hydroxycorticosteroids; D015068:17-Ketosteroids; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone