At some point in your life have you felt like you couldn’t take it anymore? Have you had physical and mental exhaustion? Weakness? Migraines? Insomnia problems? Anxiety? If so, you may have suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. (CFS/ME ). Our technical director, Luisa Varela , will explain everything about chronic fatigue.
What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME)?
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME) is an illness characterized by constant chronic fatigue that makes it difficult to make small efforts and does not improve with rest. This syndrome can also affect the neurological, immune, endocrine and metabolic systems. It can be caused by different factors and each individual can be affected differently.
There are different degrees of involvement of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME):
- In the mild degree , the affected person notices how their activity is reduced to half of what they did previously.
- In the moderate degree , the patient has difficulty leaving their home and considerably reduces their daily activity.
- In the severe degree , the person with chronic fatigue syndrome does not have the energy to get active and get out of bed to perform routine activities.
What are the Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) ?
The most notable symptom of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) is persistent fatigue, which does not disappear with rest and limits the performance of daily activities and routines. Even so, there are other symptoms that may occur in sick people, such as:
- Brain fog (Neurocognitive impairment).
- Muscle pains.
- Joint pain.
- Migraines (Headaches) .
- Postural tachycardia.
- Anxiety or depression.
- Irritable bowel syndrome.
Despite several decades of research, there is currently no validated marker for diagnosis, nor effective drugs to treat the disease. The pathophysiology of this disease still remains a mystery, for this reason, prevention, diagnosis and early treatment strategies are unsatisfactory and ineffective due to the lack of sensitive and specific biomarkers , in addition to the lack of adequate treatment of these diseases.
What are the treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME)?
Currently, there is a therapeutic arsenal that attempts to alleviate the symptoms associated with Chronic Fatigue or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), but does not alter the course of the disease.
Between 2020 and 2023, Vitae Health Innovation has participated jointly with the Vall Hospital d’Hebron in different clinical studies related to research on supplementation with specific nutrients for patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) and its effect on different parameters related to the quality of life of sick people.
One of them, the ReConnect Study , investigated the effect of coenzyme Q10 together with NADH on the perception of fatigue and quality of life of sick people.
The results of this study showed a reduction in the perception of fatigue and an improvement in the quality of health of patients treated with coenzyme Q10 and NADH . Significant differences were also observed in sleep duration and efficiency. These results showed that supplementation with coenzyme Q10 and NADH could be a potential treatment route to reduce the perception of fatigue and improve the quality of life of patients.
From Vitae Health Innovation we continue to work with the medical and biochemical community in the identification and validation of precise biomarkers, helped by innovative technologies, that allow us an early diagnosis and advance personalized treatments for these pathologies.
Luisa Varela – Technical and R&D Director
References
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- https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04301609
