Primer for journalists

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and chronic fatigue (CF) are widely misunderstood. In this primer, we provide evidence-based statements (with links to further reading & sources) to support journalists writing about the disease. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome must never be shortened to Chronic Fatigue in the body of an article or its headline. This has caused much confusion for readers who do not understand CFS is a debilitating lifelong illness and it is not the same as CF which is a symptom.

What do we know?
ME is a debilitating illness that has been recognized as a neurological condition by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1969.

It is a systemic neuroimmune condition characterized by post-exertional malaise (PEM) (a severe worsening of symptoms after even minimal exertion). It causes dysregulation of both the immune system and the nervous system. The effects of ME are devastating enough to leave 25% of patients housebound or bedbound. For moderate to severe patients, the disability of living with ME is like living with late-stage cancer, advanced stage AIDS, or congestive heart failure for decades.

In many parts of the world, it is commonly called chronic fatigue syndrome.

ME/CFS costs the US economy up to $24 billion per year in direct medical costs, and lost production. Despite this, funding for research is not commensurate with the level of disease burden. In the 2015 financial year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided only $5 million in research funding for ME/CFS, which is less funding than hayfever. This is in stark contrast to funding levels for other similarly disabling illnesses, like multiple sclerosis ($105 million) and HIV/AIDS ($3 billion). The Institute of Medicine, a special advisory committee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (ref: CFSAC recommendations) and NIH expert advisory panel agree that it is imperative to increase research funding into ME/CFS.

Disease onset and course of illness
The disease ME/CFS is diagnosed when a person does not recover from a flu-like illness, EBV, mononucleosis, HHV, Q fever, virus or other infections and meets one or more diagnostic criteria for either ME, CFS or ME/CFS. "Occasionally, ME/CFS has been triggered by environmental toxins, the receipt of an immunizing injection, or surviving a major trauma." Patient health is never the same and they experience numerous symptoms and disease severity which fluctuate day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year and decade to decade as well as varying symptoms and disease severity among patients.

Epidemiology

 * Epidemiology
 * Female predominant diseases
 * Like many autoimmune and neuro-immune diseases where mostly women are afflicted, the ME/CFS female/male patient ratio is 6:1.


 * Pediatric
 * Prognosis
 * Prevalence
 * "An estimated 17-20 million people suffer from ME/CFS worldwide, and 25% of them have a very severe form of it." The 25% of patients who are severely ill are either bed-bound, wheelchair bound, or are housebound or nearly so. The ME/CFS Severely Ill, Big Data Study is focused on this 25%.


 * All races and cultures are afflicted with ME/CFS. Children and adolescents are also diagnosed.

United States In the United States, 836,000 - 2.5 million people suffer from ME/CFS. "The total economic costs of ME/CFS are estimated at $17 to $24 billion annually." Some CFS patients can work with job accommodations but 1/3 to 1/2 become unemployed and many rely on SSDI/SSI.

ME vs CFS vs CF
The name myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) was coined following an outbreak of an illness at the Royal Free Hospital in the UK, in 1955. The name chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) was coined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) following an outbreak of a flu-like illness at Incline Village, at Lake Tahoe, in the 1980s. There is disagreement as to whether ME and CFS are the same condition, entirely separate conditions, or whether ME constitutes a more severe subset of CFS. Adding to the confusion, the diagnostic name given to patients is more often dependent on the country in which they live, than differing characteristics of their condition, as some countries use CFS (eg: US, Australia), and other countries (particularly in Europe) use ME. At this point in time, there is no clear biological evidence to resolve whether the conditions are the same or different, and there is unlikely to be a resolution until firm biomarkers have been identified. As such, many patients and researchers use the term ME/CFS. See: Definitions of ME and CFS.

The name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is itself controversial, as many consider it stigmatizing. In February 2016, Dr Anthony Komaroff, who was part of the CDC group of clinicians who coined the name Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, said of it: "'I think that was a big mistake because the name, in my opinion, and the opinion of a lot of people, it both trivializes and stigmatizes the illness. It makes it seem unimportant, maybe not even real'"

It is important to distinguish between ME/CFS and chronic fatigue (CF), which is a symptom of many different medical conditions (eg: anemia, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, hypothyroidism, depression, ME/CFS). "Chronic fatigue" is not a condition in its own right and it is incorrect and misleading to refer to ME/CFS as "chronic fatigue". While fatigue is a component of ME/CFS, many consider post-exertional malaise (PEM) to be the cardinal feature of ME/CFS.

Symptoms
Symptom presentation varies enormously between individuals. Symptom presentation also varies within individuals, as individuals often report that symptoms change over time (increasing or decreasing) and new symptoms may appear while others disappear. There are many symptoms which people with ME/CFS experience, though those listed below are arguably the most common: "This is a term which describes a symptom in which exercise or exertion can bring on malaise (illness). In the case of people with ME/CFS, malaise often occurs during a period some 24-72 hours after exertion. For example, in some cases, a short walk can worsen ME/CFS symptoms two days later. This lack of understanding about the delayed onset of symptoms has, in the past, made it harder to test for ME/CFS. Follow up tests, taken less than 24 hours after an initial exercise test, may show that the patient can still perform activities at the same level (before post exertional malaise has a chance to take hold)."
 * Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is the hallmark symptom of ME/CFS. After physical or mental exertion (which for some patients can be a shower or making out a to-do list, others grocery shopping, socializing or reading a news article, while some just walking to the mailbox, getting to the doctor or mentally following a T.V. program)  there is a payback which can be delayed 24-72 hours or more  and can last 24 hours or more. The patient will experience even greater fatigue as well as exasperate the flu-like symptoms and body pain. Every patient experiences different symptoms and symptom severity from different activities and exertion output according to how sick he or she is with the disease.   Regarding PEM the CFIDS Association of America states:
 * Chronic fatigue
 * Cognitive dysfunction
 * Orthostatic intolerance, such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) or neurally mediated hypotension (NMH)
 * Unrefreshing sleep, and sleep disturbance

Other possible symptoms

 * Chronic pain is a mandatory symptom in the Canadian Consensus Criteria.
 * Neurological signs and symptoms (Category on MEpedia). Also, see: Neurological impairments in International Consensus Criteria and Neuroinflammation.

Expanded lists of symptoms

 * Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
 * What are the symptoms of ME/CFS?

Comorbids

 * Fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), and multiple chemical sensitivity

Government guides on symptoms
US Government guides on symptoms
 * Clinicians Guide via The Institute of Medicine report (IOM)
 * CDC - ME/CFS Symptoms

Canada guides on symptoms
 * Alberta Clinicians Guide

Biological abnormalities
Because there is currently no biomedical test for ME/CFS, many have incorrectly assumed that there are no medical abnormalities found in people with the condition. As a result, ME/CFS symptoms are often considered to be medically unexplained, and therefore psychological in origin. Whilst it is true that the condition is poorly understood, many biological abnormalities have been found in a range of different body systems that have been found in ME/CFS, particularly in the central nervous system (CNS), autonomic nervous system, immune system and energy metabolism. Unfortunately, none have yet proved to be specific or practical enough to ME/CFS as to be useful as a biomarker of the condition, and many were identified in small studies, which are in need of replication. Whilst there have been abnormalities which have been identified to be associated with the condition, it cannot yet be determined whether these are a cause or consequence of the condition.


 * Natural killer cell findings
 * Gastrointestinal system
 * Immune findings by Mady Hornig & Ian Lipkin
 * List of enterovirus infection studies


 * 2014/15, Neuroinflammation Japanese Neuroinflammation study, Younger's Leptin study
 * 2015, Brains of People With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Offer Clues About Disorder. Reduced brain white matter study by Stanford ME/CFS Initiative. New York Times Article with brain images. Three major brain abnormalities.
 * 2016, Metabolic features of chronic fatigue syndrome
 * 2019, Evidence of widespread metabolite abnormalities in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: assessment with whole-brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy
 * 2018, ME/CFS Involves Brain Inflammation: Results from a Ramsay Pilot Study

Causes & triggers

 * Outbreaks - see List of outbreaks
 * Possible infectious triggers: Enteroviruses, Epstein-Barr virus, Q fever , Ross River Virus , mononucleosis , (Ebola?)
 * Non-viral triggers - trauma, chemical

Notable studies

 * Brains of People With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Offer Clues About Disorder - New York Times: Well (2014) With brain images.
 * Cytokine ("Notable studies")
 * List of enterovirus infection studies
 * Metabolic features of chronic fatigue syndrome (2016)

Treatments
There are currently no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatments for ME/CFS. Treatments consist mostly of symptom management, rather than treatment of the underlying cause of the condition, which is not yet understood. There are many potential treatments, though their evidence-base is limited, as most research into treatments has gone into psychological approaches to treatment.

Two treatments that have garnered much attention are Ampligen, produced by Hemispherx Biopharma, and Rituximab. Many people have reported enormous benefit from Ampligen, some doctors have been prescribing it for ME/CFS for decades. Attempts to obtain FDA approval for Ampligen in the US have failed so, despite its usefulness, it is unavailable to many. Argentina has approved the use of Ampligen in 2016. Also in 2016, it was made available on a limited basis in Europe. July of 2018, Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc "announced the immediate expansion of its Treatment Protocol/Expanded Access Programs for ME/CFS in the United States, known as AMP-511, to new enrollees for the first time in more than a year."

Rituximab, a lymphoma drug, had shown promising results in initial trials in Norway, and there were groups crowdsourced funding for further trials in other countries. On Nov 21, 2017, Drs. Øystein Fluge and Olav Mella announced that their Rituximab trial had failed. They stated that they would focus their efforts on attempting to identify a subgroup of ME/CFS patients with an immune profile that would be responsive to Rituximab. The Drs. will publish a paper next year with the specifics of the failed trial.

Jarred Younger announced in March 2016 that he will be undertaking a trial of low dose naltrexone (LDN) in ME/CFS.

Exercise as treatment
Previously, two common treatment recommendations for ME/CFS were graded exercise therapy (GET) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). These treatments are based on the hypothesis that the condition might have begun with a viral infection but has been perpetuated by deconditioning from lack of activity, and fear and avoidance of activity. GET & CBT are aimed at addressing these hypothesized causes by challenging the unhelpful thoughts that result in avoidance of activity and reconditioning through a gradual increase in exercise. These treatments are controversial and are at odds with much of the research literature, which suggests that exercise may actually be harmful to people with ME/CFS. A large patient survey of treatment responses found that 74% of people who had tried GET, reported that their symptoms subsequently worsened, which is consistent with other patient surveys.

The PACE trial, published in 2011, is the largest GET ever conducted. It has received much publicity as a result of its claims of recovery rates, though it has come under strong criticism from within both the scientific and patient community, for significant flaws in its design, and for overstating (and in some cases misrepresenting) outcomes in both the initial trial, and follow-up studies. From 2015 to present day, the study was the subject of a series of investigative pieces that were highly critical of the trial by journalist Dr. David Tuller, science writer Julie Rehmeyer, patient advocate Tom Kindlon, Dr. Keith Geraghty , psychologist Dr. Carolyn Wilshire and others. A petition signed by almost 12,000 ME/CFS patients and allies, and an open letter signed by 42 ME/CFS experts from around the world, were sent to The Lancet, both calling for the data to be reanalysed. Twenty-four ME/CFS organizations from 14 different countries have written to Queen Mary University London requesting that the trial data be released for reanalysis. To date, the authors of the trial and editor of The Lancet have refused such requests. Despite such criticism, the PACE trial continues to influence both government and the medical profession's approach to the treatment of ME/CFS in many countries.

One of the reasons that exercise may be harmful to people with ME/CFS, is the presence of PEM, which is an exacerbation of symptoms following physical, mental or even emotional exertion. Studies have revealed immunological, muscular, neurological, autonomic and cardiovascular abnormalities in response to exercise in people with ME/CFS. As these results are not also found in healthy sedentary controls, the adverse effects of exercise cannot be said to be due to deconditioning.

People with ME/CFS should approach exercise with caution, as there is much potential for harm.

Anaerobic threshold, use of heart rate monitors for activity and pacing. Analeptic, not aerobic. Energy envelope/pacing - people do better if stay within their envelope, than push to increase activity

Graded exercise therapy & Cognitive behavioral therapy
GET and CBT are usually employed in the UK, Ireland and some parts of Europe through ME Clinics. They are highly controversial and not recommended by patients, most patient advocates, and research organizations nor by many doctors or researchers outside of the UK. Based on the flawed PACE trial which used the flawed Oxford criteria to diagnose and recruit patients, GET and CBT found its way into treating people with ME/CFS.

Exercise, especially GET, can injure an ME/CFS patient further.


 * Jennifer Brea walked home from her Neurologist's office and became wheelchair bound.
 * This is an experience of serious injury due to GET shared by K. Miles, via Tom Kindlon on Twitter.
 * Emma Shorter was able to walk a few minutes a day until GET put her in a wheelchair.
 * Doctor Speedy was also seriously injured by GET.

Claims of recovery and cures
Charlatans claim they can cure CFS (per the CDC "there is no cure" ) when in reality they may be able to treat chronic fatigue (CF). Some people misdiagnosed and "recovered" from CFS most likely had CF which can be caused by many illnesses, diseases, and drug therapies or a bad year or two perhaps with mononucleosis followed by a bout or two of influenza. These individuals were experiencing a proper immune response whereas ME/CFS patients experience an ongoing improper immune response and other abnormalities for at least 6 months straight with a reduction in activity with a specific symptom set for at least 50% of the time.

Additionally, some athletes diagnosed with CFS that recovered were actually suffering from overtraining syndrome, a condition they sometimes acquire, while some people with adrenal fatigue are sometimes diagnosed with CFS.

Severely ill patients
Considerable variation exists in the severity of the condition. The International Consensus Criteria lists the following severity levels (it should be noted that even "mild" ME/CFS consists of significant debility):


 * Mild = 50% reduction in pre-illness activity levels
 * Moderate = mostly housebound
 * Severe = mostly bedridden
 * Very Severe = totally bedridden, and needing help with basic functions.

At least 25% of people with ME/CFS are bedbound or housebound, often for years or even decades, so are largely an invisible population. So invisible in fact, that they have rarely been included as part of research because their level of debility precludes them from traveling to laboratories for required testing. The Open Medicine Foundation's ME/CFS Severely Ill, Big Data Study will be the first in-depth study of people with a severe form of ME/CFS. This study has so far produced the groundbreaking paper Metabolic features of chronic fatigue syndrome. It is estimated that 25% of ME/CFS patients are severely ill and are housebound or bedbound.

Notable patients with severe or very severe ME/CFS include Whitney Dafoe, Karina Hansen, Lynn Gilderdale, Laura Hillenbrand, Tom Kindlon, Vanessa Li, Doctor Speedy, Naomi Whittingham, Jamison Hill and Jessica Taylor-Bearman.

Though uncommon, there have been instances of deaths which have been attributed to the condition (see Sophia Mirza, Merryn Crofts).

Patients & psychiatry/psychology

 * Objections & scope
 * Mind-body dualism
 * The PACE trial. See Patient view of the PACE Trial controversy
 * Patient mental health

Stigmatization

 * Pretty young women slumped on desk
 * Yuppie Flu
 * Accusations of laziness/lethargy
 * Epidemiological evidence - age, gender, demographic, racial/cultural

Accusations of harassment

 * Tiny %
 * No arrests or convictions
 * Poor treatment of patients not mentioned. Ean Proctor and "The Mental Health Movement: Persecution of Patients?"

Working with government to move forward
Advocates met with senate staffers the week of March 16, 2016, and discussed research and drug development by the NIH, the CDC reinstating and increasing funding and education based on IOM recommendations and the HHS funding to develop Centers of Excellence. MEAction reports on this ongoing process.

CDC Website updates

 * Jul 3, 2017, the CDC's Chronic Fatigue Syndrome page has been changed to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and GET and CBT recommendations have been removed.


 * Jul 12, 2018, the "Information for Healthcare Providers" tab and its sub-tabs were updated.

MEAction input
 * Jul 29, 2018, CDC Revises its Information on ME #MEAction report on the CDC July 2017 and July 2018 website updates. Recommendations for the CDC's ME/CFS page have been created from patient feedback on the updates as well as asking for further patient input.

Quotes from ME/CFS experts and patients

 * Thoughts About ME - List of Quotes
 * Individual Quotes

Doctors
UK
 * Jonathan Edwards
 * Charles Shepherd

US


 * Lucinda Bateman
 * Lily Chu
 * Nancy Klimas
 * Anthony Komaroff
 * Susan Levine
 * Jose Montoya
 * Benjamin Natelson
 * Daniel Peterson
 * Alan Pocinki
 * Peter Rowe
 * Ronald Tompkins
 * David Tuller

Researchers
Australia
 * Neil McGregor

UK
 * Keith Geraghty

US
 * Ron Davis
 * Gunnar Gottschalk
 * Maureen Hanson
 * Mady Hornig
 * Leonard Jason
 * Betsy Keller
 * Ian Lipkin
 * Staci Stevens
 * Suzanne Vernon
 * Jarred Younger

Canada

 * Scott Simpson

Scotland

 * Emma Shorter

US

 * Jennifer Brea
 * Carol Head
 * Ryan Prior
 * Julie Rehmeyer
 * Jaime Seltzer

UK

 * Adam Lowe
 * Graham McPhee
 * Jessica Taylor-Bearman

Ireland

 * Tom Kindlon

Patient groups & charities
Patient groups
 * American patient groups
 * Australian patient groups
 * Belgian patient groups
 * British patient groups
 * Canadian patient groups
 * Dutch patient groups
 * Irish patient groups
 * Italian patient groups
 * New Zealand patient groups
 * Norwegian patient groups
 * Scottish patient groups
 * Swedish patient groups

History

 * Osler's Web is a book by Hillary Johnson on the early history of CFS.
 * Thirty Years of Disdain by Mary Dimmock and Matthew Lazell-Fairman picks up on the ME/CFS history where Osler's Web leaves off.

Deaths of ME/CFS patients

 * Causes of death
 * Suicide

Death certificates with ME or CFS
 * Merryn Crofts' death is attributed to ME.
 * Sophia Mirza's death is attributed to CFS.

In the UK, United States, and Australia there are claims loved ones have died due to ME/CFS. See Editor's Note

Other tips

 * Always interview a patient
 * Interview more than one researcher (not just from the psychological etiology view)
 * Avoid using derogatory, outdated & incorrect term "Yuppie Flu"
 * Never shorten the disease name chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) to the symptom chronic fatigue (CF). CFS, ME or ME/CFS can be used to save print space.
 * Use photographic imagery that represents the reality for patients - serious illness & disability - not well-groomed & slightly tired office workers at their computer or students with a pile of books sleeping at their desk. Solve ME/CFS Initiative's Times Square Public Awareness Ad shows the reality of the disease ME/CFS. Using photos of patients whether chronically ill yet functioning or a severely ill patient or stock photos that reflect life with this disease is necessary.

Learn more
Films
 * Forgotten Plague is a US documentary about Ryan Prior, an afflicted journalist who investigates the disease and its history and why the CDC has left millions sidelined from life; available for streaming and DVD purchase. (2015)
 * Unrest is a US documentary film that aired on PBS's Independent Lens in 2018 and is available for streaming and DVD purchase. Jennifer Brea, a person with ME, directs. (2017)

ME/CFS organization and researchers material
 * Beyond the Data – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Advancing Research and Clinical Education (The CDC's Dr. John Iskander interviews Dr. Anthony Komaroff. Video, 2016)
 * Caring for People with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (2018) Guide for Caretakers
 * ME/CFS Diagnosis and Name with Dr Nancy Klimas (video)
 * What is ME/CFS? By the Open Medicine Foundation

Patient mental health


 * Patients
 * Karina Hansen is a young Danish woman taken from her family for 3 1/2 years due to Per Fink's insistence her ME was due to mental health issues.
 * Sophia Mirza was taken forcibly from her home to a mental hospital only to be returned shortly after and died.
 * Ean Proctor was taken from his parents as a young boy and he was told his "parents were letting him die." He had become paralyzed and mute and was let go in the deep end of a pool to make him swim and another time put him on a scary theme park ride to scare him into moving.

More mental health information
 * ME/CFS is not depression. It is a lack of energy, not desire.

Research
 * Institute of Medicine report (2015) The CDC based its updated ME/CFS page on information in this report.
 * Notable studies