title: Chronic fatigue syndrome and nickel allergy.
abstract: 50 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and 73 controls were patch tested with 8 metal allergens. We found an overrepresentation of allergies among the CFS patients, which was not significant. However, allergy to nickel occurred in 36% of patients in the CFS group and in 19% of subjects in the control group (p<0.05). The high frequency of nickel allergy was more noteworthy in females in the CFS group than among female controls (52% and 24%, respectively, p<0.05). Similarly, in the males the figures were 14% and 9%. We suggest that in vivo immunoactivation by ions of nickel, or metal cross-reacting with nickel, could be an etiological factor in CFS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Marcusson
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lindh
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Evengård
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017449:Dermatitis, Allergic Contact / Q000209:etiology*; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000009:adverse effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D009532:Nickel / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010328:Patch Tests; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D009532:Nickel