Pediatric myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: Difference between revisions

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'''Pediatric''' [[ME/CFS]] has been defined by the [[Centers for Disease Control]] (CDC) and the [[Institute of Medicine]] (IOM) although it is usually diagnosed in adults. "Children below the age of 8 or 9 do not have the symptom pattern of adolescents past puberty. If the onset of the disease occurs during adolescence, the most common time of onset, the pattern is similar to that of adults. Pediatric criteria have been developed."<ref>[http://www.openmedicinefoundation.org/2016/06/25/mecfs-in-children-by-dr-david-s-bell-2/ ME/CFS in Children - by David S. Bell, MD - Open Medicine Foundation]</ref> Children can be diagnosed at 3 months while adults are diagnosed at six months.<ref>[https://www.masscfids.org/pediatric-me-cfs-links Pediatric ME/CFS - Massachusetts CFIDS/ME FM Association]</ref>  
'''Pediatric''' [[ME/CFS]] has been defined by the [[Centers for Disease Control]] (CDC) and the [[Institute of Medicine]] (IOM) although it is usually diagnosed in adults. "Children below the age of 8 or 9 do not have the symptom pattern of adolescents past puberty. If the onset of the disease occurs during adolescence, the most common time of onset, the pattern is similar to that of adults. Pediatric criteria have been developed."<ref>[http://www.openmedicinefoundation.org/2016/06/25/mecfs-in-children-by-dr-david-s-bell-2/ ME/CFS in Children - by David S. Bell, MD - Open Medicine Foundation]</ref> Children can be diagnosed at 3 months while adults are diagnosed at six months.<ref>[https://www.masscfids.org/pediatric-me-cfs-links Pediatric ME/CFS - Massachusetts CFIDS/ME FM Association]</ref><ref>[http://iacfsme.org/Portals/0/pdf/CanadianCaseDefinition.2003.pdf Canadian Case Definition: DIAGNOSTIC PROTOCOL #7 (Pg. 6), Features of ME/CFS in Children (Pg. 15)]</ref>  


== Recognized as a Pediatric disease ==
== Recognized as a Pediatric disease ==

Revision as of 20:30, March 23, 2017

Pediatric ME/CFS has been defined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) although it is usually diagnosed in adults. "Children below the age of 8 or 9 do not have the symptom pattern of adolescents past puberty. If the onset of the disease occurs during adolescence, the most common time of onset, the pattern is similar to that of adults. Pediatric criteria have been developed."[1] Children can be diagnosed at 3 months while adults are diagnosed at six months.[2][3]

Recognized as a Pediatric disease[edit | edit source]

Pediatric ME/CFS was outlined in the Institute of Medicine report (IOMR). The Massachusetts CFIDS/ME & FM Association has produced 6 pages of easy to step through information based on the IOMR and includes additional resources.

Page titles

  1. Pediatric case definition/diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS
  2. Exclusionary conditions
  3. Differential diagnosis
  4. Finding a doctor
  5. More Resources
  6. References


The CDC provides Factsheets for Healthcare Professionals, Parents and Education Professionals. (2014)

Charities[edit | edit source]

Tymes Trust is a UK charity dedicated to helping parents and guardians understand Pediatric ME/CFS and navigate social services, health care and the school system.

Notable studies[edit | edit source]



  • 2015, Less efficient and costly processes of frontal cortex in childhood chronic fatigue syndrome

    Abstract: The ability to divide one's attention deteriorates in patients with childhood chronic fatigue syndrome (CCFS). We conducted a study using a dual verbal task to assess allocation of attentional resources to two simultaneous activities (picking out vowels and reading for story comprehension) and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patients exhibited a much larger area of activation, recruiting additional frontal areas. The right middle frontal gyrus (MFG), which is included in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, of CCFS patients was specifically activated in both the single and dual tasks; this activation level was positively correlated with motivation scores for the tasks and accuracy of story comprehension. In addition, in patients, the dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus (dACC) and left MFG were activated only in the dual task, and activation levels of the dACC and left MFG were positively associated with the motivation and fatigue scores, respectively. Patients with CCFS exhibited a wider area of activated frontal regions related to attentional resources in order to increase their poorer task performance with massive mental effort. This is likely to be less efficient and costly in terms of energy requirements. It seems to be related to the pathophysiology of patients with CCFS and to cause a vicious cycle of further increases in fatigue.[6]

Learn more[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ME/CFS in Children - by David S. Bell, MD - Open Medicine Foundation
  2. Pediatric ME/CFS - Massachusetts CFIDS/ME FM Association
  3. Canadian Case Definition: DIAGNOSTIC PROTOCOL #7 (Pg. 6), Features of ME/CFS in Children (Pg. 15)
  4. Bakken, IJ; Tveito, K; Aaberg, KM; Ghaderi, S; Gunnes, N; Trogstad, L; Magnus, P; Stoltenberg, C; Haberg, SE (2016), "Comorbidities treated in primary care in children with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: A nationwide registry linkage study from Norway", BMC Family Practice, 17 (1): 128, doi:10.1186/s12875-016-0527-7, PMID 27590471
  5. Pediatric ME/CFS - Institute of Medicine Report - The National Academies Press Chapter 8, Pg. 201
  6. Mizuno, K.; Tanaka, M.; Tanabe, H.C.; Joudoi, T.; Kawatani, J.; Shigihara, Y.; Tomoda, A; Miike, T; Imai-Matsumura, K; Sadato, N; Watanabe, Y (2015), "Less efficient and costly processes of frontal cortex in childhood chronic fatigue syndrome", NeuroImage : Clinical, 2015 (9): 355–368, doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2015.09.001, PMID 26594619