Katherine Rowe

Katherine (Kathy) S. Rowe, MD, is a consultant paediatrician at the University of Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia, and an expert in the area of ME/CFS and the relationship between health and education. She has learned much from her extensive cohort and feedback from the young people with this illness.

Talks and Interviews

• 2014, Dr Kathy Rowe at a seminar put on by Emerge Australia (formerly ME/CFS Australia (Victoria)).
• 2007, Panel on "Chronic fatigue syndrome," interviewed by Natasha Mitchell on All in the Mind on ABC Radio National Australia

Notable studies

• 2006, "A Pediatric Case Definition for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"

  "Summary: For a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), most researchers use criteria that were developed by Fukuda et al. (1994), with modifications suggested by Reeves et al. (2003). However, this case definition was established for adults rather than children. A Canadian Case Definition (ME/CFS; Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/CFS) has recently been developed, with more specific inclusion criteria (Carruthers et al., 2003). Again, the primary aim of this case definition is to diagnose adult CFS. A significant problem in the literature is the lack of both a pediatric definition of ME/CFS and a reliable instrument to assess it. These deficiencies can lead to criterion variance problems resulting in studies labeling children with a wide variety of symptoms as having ME/CFS. Subsequently, comparisons between articles become more difficult, decreasing the possibility of conducting a meta-analysis. This article presents recommendations developed by the International Association of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Pediatric Case Definition Working group for a ME/CFS pediatric case definition. It is hoped that this pediatric case definition will lead to more appropriate identification of children and adolescents with ME/CFS."

• 1999, "Five-Year Follow-Up of Young People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Following the Double Blind Randomised Controlled Intravenous Gammaglobulin Trial."

  "Summary: Three and 5 year follow-up studies of eighty-nine young people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome who completed a double blind randomised controlled trial of intravenous gammaglobulin has been conducted to determine whether the improvement following the intravenous gammaglobulin was sustained...Follow-up data were obtained on 86 of 89 after the study concluded...There was no persistent deterioration in function related to CFS in any young person. Four had reported recurrence of symptoms lasting 3-8 months and again improved. Others remained ‘improved’ or continued to improve...Seventeen per cent of those who responded were still moderately unwell with another 23% ‘not back to normal yet.’ Sixty per cent of participants considered they were ‘well’ at the last follow-up with 45% scoring 10/10...There was no deterioration in overall function over the 5 years following participation in the gammaglobulin trial, and young people continued to improve although a significant number were still disabled."

• 1997, "Double-blind randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of intravenous gammaglobulin for the management of chronic fatigue syndrome in adolescents." Done at the Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia.

"ABSTRACT: A double blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in 71 adolescents aged 11-18 years... [fulfilling] Fukuda et al., 1994...Three infusions of 1 gm/kg ... were given one month apart. The dummy solution was a 10% w/v maltose solution with 1% albumin of equivalent volume for weight. Efficacy was assessed by difference in a mean functional score including school attendance, school work, social activity and physical activity, between baseline, three months and six months after the final infusion. There was a significant mean functional improvement at the six month follow-up of 70 adolescents with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome of average duration 18 months. There was also a significant improvement for both groups from the beginning of the trial to the six month post infusion follow-up.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

double blinded trial A clinical trial is double blinded if neither the participants nor the researchers know which treatment group they are allocated to until after the results are interpreted. This reduces bias. (Learn more: www.nottingham.ac.uk)

randomized controlled trial (RCT) - A trial in which participants are randomly assigned to two groups, with one group receiving the treatment being studied and a control or comparison group receiving a sham treatment, placebo, or comparison treatment.