# University of Alberta researchers offer physical evidence for CFIDS/ME



## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

More interesting study information posted to the Co-Cure mailing list:


> quote: Contact: Phoebe Deyphoiebe.dey###ualberta.ca780-492-0437University of AlbertaUniversity of Alberta researchers offer physical evidence for chronicfatigue syndromeA University of Alberta study has verified that there is physical evidencefor those who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), giving new weightto the often stigmatized and misdiagnosed disorder.Research just published in the "International Journal of Psychophysiology"determined that, using independent criteria, CFS can be distinguished fromdepression--two disorders that share many of the same symptoms.CFS is an often debilitating disorder, characterized by a constellation ofsymptoms including fever, sore throat, headache, muscle weakness, myalgias,post-external malaise, sleep and cognitive disturbances. The level ofdisability varies for people with CFS, but some individuals find they areunable to return to work or function normally on a day-to-day basis.Unfortunately, many of these symptoms are subjective in nature and aredifficult to quantify or confirm, says Hannah Pazderka-Robinson, the leadauthor on the study. Not only does the stigma attached with the disorderplay an emotional toll on the patient, but it has implications forinsurance claims as well."There are a number of medical professionals who don't believe that CFSexists in the first place," said Pazderka-Robinson. "The problem is, bothCFS and depression are characterized by very similar profiles. Imagine apatient who approaches a doctor and tells him they feel depressed and tiredall the time."Since depression shows a high co-morbidity with CFS, some CFS patients areoften given antidepressants--that don't work or work poorly, since they donot address the underlying condition. Again, when these medications don'twork, physicians sometimes jump to the conclusion that there isn't reallyanything, physically, wrong. Obviously, both misdiagnosis and the tendencyfor doctors to treat these patients as if they're not really sick can beextremely distressing. It can also undermine the patient's trust in thedoctor and make them less likely to seek treatment if the condition worsens."The most significant part of the research was to provide independentverification for CFS sufferers that these patients are different thannormal controls and they're not "just depressed," said Pazderka-Robinson.Numerous psychological investigations have attempted to differentiate thesegroups, with limited success. The U of A study was the first of its kind touse electrodermal activity--electrodes were placed on each hand--toinvestigate the differences among CFS, depression patients and healthycontrols. Using tone and light stimuli, the results showed that CFS can bediscriminated from those with major depression by recordings of skintemperatures and electrodermal activity.Moreover, the profile of CFS patients is clearly different from normalcontrols, suggesting there is a clear biological basis to the condition###Pazderka-Robinson completed this study with researchers from the UniversityCentre for Neuroscience at the University of Alberta and from AlbertaHospital.


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

Thanks for posting this Mrs.M. I'm glad that some are trying to get at what most of us have come across in our dealings with medical care for this, and other mysterious biologically based disorders. It's difficult to even get to first base with healthcare if they refuse to take a swing at diagnosing disorders properly.


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Ain't that the truth, M!Here's Part II of the article, also posted to Co-Cure:


> quote:Source: International Journal of Psychophysiology Volume 53, Issue 3, Pages 171-182Date: August 2004URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01678760 Electrodermal dissociation of chronic fatigue and depression: evidencefor distinct physiological mechanisms----------------------------------------------------------------------Hannah Pazderka-Robinson(a,b,*), James W. Morrison(a) and Pierre Flor-Henry(a,a Clinical Diagnostics and Research Centre, Alberta Hospital Edmonton, Box 307, 17480 Fort Road, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 2J7b University Centre for Neuroscience, 5-13 Heritage Medical Research Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2S2* Corresponding author. Clinical Diagnostics and Research Centre, Alberta Hospital Edmonton, Box 307, 17480 Fort Road, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 2J7. Tel.: +1-780-472-5276; fax: +1-780-472-5359.Received 12 December 2002; Revised 2 March 2004; accepted 24 March 2004.Available online 1 June 2004.AbstractChronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has an estimated prevalence between 0.5%and 3%, yet its diagnosis remains contentious. CFS is characterized bysubjective symptoms that can be difficult to verify; moreover, depressionis a commonly reported CFS complaint, whereas fatigue is a common symptomof depression. Our primary goal was dissociation of these disorders usingpsychophysiological methods. As previous research has implicated theautonomic nervous system in CFS, we conducted what we believe to be thefirst analysis of bilateral electrodermal and skin temperature responsesof dextral females in a cross-modal orienting task, to investigatedifferences between these two patient groups and controls. A multivariateanalysis of variance (MANOVA) examining three measures of electrodermalactivity revealed prestimulus tonic skin conductance levels (SCLs) weremarkedly lower for the CFS group, with no difference between controls anddepressives. Concurrent skin temperature levels were higher for the CFSgroup than the other two groups. These findings indicate that, despiteovertly similar cognitive and symptom profiles, depression and CFSpatients can be differentiated with psychophysiological measures. Thisstudy adds to the growing body of evidence demonstrating that CFS anddepression have distinct neurobiological profiles, consistent with uniqueaetiologies.Author Keywords: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS); Depression; Electrodermalactivity; Skin conductance response (SCR); Skin conductance level (SCL);Sympathetic nervous system; Skin temperature--------© 2004 Elsevier/Science Direct BV


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