title: Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate deficiency in chronic fatigue syndrome.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Oncology, Osaka University Medical School, Suita city, Osaka 565, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuratsune
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kodate
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Machii
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kanakura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kitani
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D015065:17-Hydroxycorticosteroids; D015068:17-Ketosteroids; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone