Protein Blood Markers Reveal Signs Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is not just about being tired a lot. It's the result of extreme exhaustion that doesn't go away over a six month period and interfere with regular daily activities.

With a wide-range of symptoms for each individual dealing with the health problem, researchers are hoping to re-establish just what the health problem means.

A recent discussion by panel of the Institute of Medicine sought to redefine the debilitating condition via describing five main symptoms of the health issue that doctors say should be kept in mind while making the diagnosis. In fact, researchers believe that the medical problem needs to be renamed to help treat and diagnose the issue.

To come to this conclusion, researchers looked for higher levels of the proteins in the sample that make up part of the immune system. From the participants in the study, they looked for certain samples in the blood when someone is battling infection, as well as proteins that are supposed to return after an illness is gone and found that 646 patients had been ill for three years or less had higher protein levels than other people.

However, for CFS patients who had been recently diagnosed, their immune system remained active, showing signs of exhaustion for over three years, which focused on patients who had the condition for much less time than that.

There is currently no treatment for the health problem, though hundreds of thousands in the country are affected by it. As health officials learn more about the problem, they can begin to determine how to treat those suffering.