This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating disorder marked by severe fatigue and a constellation of associated symptoms, including musculoskeletal pain, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, headaches of a new type, impaired concentration, and sleep disturbances. Patients must experience the fatigue for at least six months and must concurrently have four or more of the secondary symptoms to receive a diagnosis. Currently, the diagnosis of CFS is made only after other medical and psychiatric conditions have been excluded. There are no scientifically valid tests for the illness, nor are there widely accepted cures. As a result, there is a great deal of uncertainty among clinicians when evaluating patients with unexplained and debilitating physical and neurological symptoms that resemble those of CFS. During the past 3-4 years, our research group has used a brain imaging technique known as proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H MRSI) to measure levels of a number of important brain chemicals or neurometabolites in the brain of 31 individuals suspected with CFS. Comparison of the levels of these neurometabolites with those of healthy volunteers showed that about 50% of CFS patients had abnormal levels of N-acetylaspartate, a neuronal marker, and choline, a marker of cell membrane integrity, in specific brain regions. This observation suggested that 1H MRSI, if further developed, could prove to be a viable imaging technique for use in the diagnosis of CFS.Hypothesis: The neurometabolic profile of CFS patients derived by MRSI will be distinct from: (1) patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a psychiatric condition whose cardinal symptoms (e.g. impaired concentration, fatigue, sleep disturbance) considerably overlap with CFS; and (2) age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers.
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