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The acronym '''ME/CFS''' is commonly used as an umbrella term to cover the various case definitions used to describe [[Myalgic Encephalomyelitis]] (ME) and/or [[Chronic Fatigue Syndrome]] (CFS) around the world. Case definitions vary widely, with some being so broad as to cover numerous unrelated illnesses.<ref>[http://www.prohealth.com/me-cfs/what-is-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-me.cfm What is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? - ProHealth]</ref> Even among the narrower case definitions, it is unclear if (ME) is equivalent to (CFS), a specific form of it, or something entirely different. In ME/CFS research, the terms are often used synonymously, though there is no clear evidence to support either equating them or separating them.
The acronym '''ME/CFS''' is commonly used as an umbrella term to cover the various [[Definitions of ME and CFS|case definitions]] employed to describe [[Myalgic Encephalomyelitis]] (ME) and/or [[Chronic Fatigue Syndrome]] (CFS) around the world. Case definitions vary widely, with some being so broad as to cover numerous unrelated illnesses.<ref>[http://www.prohealth.com/me-cfs/what-is-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-me.cfm What is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? - ProHealth]</ref> Even among the narrower case definitions, it is unclear if (ME) is equivalent to (CFS), a specific form of it, or something entirely different. In ME/CFS research, the terms are often used synonymously, though there is no clear evidence to support either equating them or separating them.  


==History==
In the UK and parts of Europe, the acronym is CFS/ME.
The first recorded outbreak of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis was at [[Los Angeles atypical polio outbreak|Los Angeles County Hospital in 1934]]. The name Myalgic Encephalomyelitis first appeared in medical literature in 1956. The [[wikipedia:World Health Organization|World Health Organization]] (WHO) recognized [[ME]] as a distinct disorder and classified it as a specific neurological disorder in 1969. The term [[CFS]] was first used in medical literature in the 1980s in the United States; the name change occurred when the [[Centers for Disease Control & Prevention]] (CDC) literature began using the name CFS.<ref>[http://blog.oup.com/2015/02/disease-name-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-me/ How disease names can stigmatize OUP Blog - By: Leonard Jason]</ref> "The criteria focused on fatigue and not as much on the encephalitic (inflammation of the brain) features of the disorder." Doctors began using ME and CFS interchangeably due to the broad CFS definition in the late 1990s and early 2000s.<ref>[https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/myalgic-encephalomyelitis/ Synonyms of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis - NORD - By: Lenny Jason]</ref>


The [[1984 Incline Village chronic fatigue syndrome outbreak]] was an [[outbreak]] that lead to the name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
== See also ==


The ME name was not fully accepted by the medical and government health agencies while CFS was not found to be acceptable by patients and some health practitioners.
* Myalgic encephalomyelitis
 
* Chronic fatigue syndrome
The [[Canadian Consensus Criteria]] (CCC) developed in 2003 was the first time the ME/CFS name and acronym was used.<ref>[http://sacfs.asn.au/download/consensus_overview_me_cfs.pdf Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - A Clinical Case Definition and Guidelines for Medical Practitioners - An Overview of the Canadian Consensus Document]</ref>
 
In 2006, Rich Carson, founder of [[ProHealth]],<ref>[http://www.prohealth.com/aboutus/ ProHealth - About Us]</ref> started a name change campaign. The term ME/CFS was proposed in 2007 at the [[International IACFS/ME Research and Clinical Conference]] and in 2008 [[Invest in ME]] called for unity in using the name.<ref>[http://phoenixrising.me/resources/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-name-change-efforts Name Change Efforts Over Time - Phoenix Rising]</ref>
 
== Why the acronym ME/CFS is used ==
[[Solve ME/CFS]] answer in Reader Questions: "Why does your organization call this disease ME/CFS?" in its [http://solvecfs.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Chronicle-02-2017.pdf ''The Solve ME/CFS Chronicle Winter 2017 Edition'', (Pg. 18.)]
 
== Number afflicted and lost wages==
ME/CFS afflicts up to 2.5 million Americans (and an estimated 17 million worldwide) and in the USA there are lost wages of $17-24 billion a year. The US numbers came from the [[Institute of Medicine report]] (IOM report) which used the [[Fukuda criteria]] (for defining CFS in research) and [[CCC]] (which defines either ME or CFS in research or a clinical level).<ref>[https://www.nap.edu/read/19012/chapter/1 BEYOND Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Redefining an Illness - National Academies of Medicine of Sciences Engineering Medicine]</ref><ref>[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14PSpEi2hFcjH62gY1_GCM-WVE_7QWNYkKTT6oRBA5Ms/edit ME Prevalence by State and Congr District]</ref>
 
== Criteria comparrisons ==
*2016, [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4556426/pdf/nihms699325.pdf ''Chronic Fatigue Syndrome versus Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease'' (Pg. 13 Table 1)], shows out of 795 participants, the following percentages of patients met different criteria:
 
 
:''Excerpt''
 
::::::::::::::Table 1
:::::88%  [[SEID]] (Developed by the IOM report) (ME/CFS/SEID) [[PEM]] Required
:::::92%  [[Fukuda criteria]] (CFS) (Used by committee that developed IOM report) PEM Optional
:::::76%  [[CCC]] (ME/CFS) (Used by committee that developed the IOM report) PEM Optional
:::::61%  [[Four-symptom criteria]] (ME/CFS) PEM Required
:::::60%  [[ICC]] (ME) PEM Required
 
This indicates there are fewer ME-ICC patients and the numbers of afflicted and financial impact are not correctly attributed to them only but instead to ME/CFS per the IOM report.
 
 
*2017, [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21641846.2017.1299079?journalCode=rftg20& ''Patients diagnosed with Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome also fit systemic exertion intolerance disease criteria''], results and conclusion:
 
 
:''Excerpt''
 
:'''Results:''' At 6 months of illness, SEID criteria identified 72% of all subjects, similar to when Fukuda criteria (79%) or the CCC (71%) were used, whereas the ME-ICC selected for a significantly lower percentage (61%, p < .001). When severity/frequency thresholds were added to the Fukuda criteria, CCC and ME-ICC, the percentage of these subjects also fitting SEID criteria increased to 93%, 97%, and 95%. Eighty-seven percent of SEID subjects endorsed cognitive impairment and 92%, OI; 79% experienced both symptoms.
 
:'''Conclusions:''' SEID criteria categorize a similar percentage of subjects as Fukuda criteria early in the course of ME/CFS and contain the majority of subjects identified using other criteria while requiring fewer symptoms. The advantage of SEID may be in its ease of use.
 
This shows that when Fukuda criteria, CCC and ME-ICC have severity/frequency thresholds added their patients will meet SEID criteria. This is advantageous on a clinical level as patients can be diagnosed by a Primary/GP and then go through the more rigorous process of receiving an ME, CFS or ME/CFS diagnosis using Fukuda criteria, CCC and ME-ICC until a [[Biomarker]] is found.
 
==Controversy==
Dr. [[Nancy Klimas]] discusses the ME and CFS name controversy.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2vIQ92wU9Y ME/CFS Diagnosis and Name with Dr. Nancy Klimas ]</ref>  Dr. Klimas was one of the authors of CCC.
 
It is believed by some in the [[ME]], [[CFS]] and ME/CFS community that the name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and then the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome name are a product of medical insurance companies, possibly in an effort to define the disorder as a behavioral illness similar to hypochondria or malingering. Insurance companies could benefit from this viewpoint, since behavioral illnesses are much less expensive to treat than physical illnesses, and in many cases, are not covered by insurance at all.<ref>[http://www.hfme.org/whobenefitsfromcfs.htm Who benefits from 'CFS' and 'ME/CFS'? - By: The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E. By: Jodi Bassett]</ref>
 
== Learn more ==
*[[Definitions of ME and CFS]]
*[[Forgotten Plague]]
*[[Osler's Web]]
*[[Thirty Years of Disdain]]


== References ==
== References ==
<references />
<references />
[[Category:Diagnoses]]
[[Category:Disease names]]

Revision as of 04:26, July 8, 2018

The acronym ME/CFS is commonly used as an umbrella term to cover the various case definitions employed to describe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and/or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) around the world. Case definitions vary widely, with some being so broad as to cover numerous unrelated illnesses.[1] Even among the narrower case definitions, it is unclear if (ME) is equivalent to (CFS), a specific form of it, or something entirely different. In ME/CFS research, the terms are often used synonymously, though there is no clear evidence to support either equating them or separating them.

In the UK and parts of Europe, the acronym is CFS/ME.

See also[edit | edit source]

  • Myalgic encephalomyelitis
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome

References[edit | edit source]