may be relevant for some patients diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome
Tom Kindlon, Irish ME/CFS Association
30 July 2014
I would like to thank the authors for taking the time to write up this case report, as well as thanking the patient for giving permission for the use of her story.
I thought it was worth pointing out that the symptoms described by the authors and the patient would be quite similar to the symptoms patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) would report (1-7). I don't believe patients with an ME or CFS diagnosis are often assessed for a mitochondrial myopathy using the tests mentioned although a novel test did find evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction (8). At least two studies have found carnitine supplementation to be of benefit in patients diagnosed with CFS (9,10).
Excessive acidosis on exercise has been found in patients (11,12). One study, looking for an association with enterovirus infection, found that 58% of CFS patients had an abnormal lactate response to subanaerobic threshold exercise test (13).
CFS is increasingly recoognized as being heterogeneous (14). Despite its name, more symptoms than fatigue are generally associated with it (15). Mitochondrial problems could relevant for some patients even if they may not be relevant for all patients.
References:
(1) Fukuda K, Straus SE, Hickie I, Sharpe MC, Dobbins JG, Komaroff A. The chronic fatigue syndrome: A comprehensive approach to its definition and study. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1994;121:953-959.
(2) Sharpe MC, Archard LC, Banatvala JE, et al. A report--chronic fatigue syndrome: guidelines for research. J R Soc Med. 1991 Feb;84(2):118-21.
(3) Carruthers B, Jain A, de Meirleir K, Peterson D, Klimas N, Lemer A, et al.: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: clinical working case definition, diagnostic and treatment protocols. J Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 2003;11(1):7-33
(4) Holmes GP, Kaplan JE, Gantz NM, et al. Chronic fatigue syndrome: a working case definition. Ann Intern Med. 1988 Mar;108(3):387-9.
(5) Jason LA, Evans M, Porter N, et al. The development of a revised Canadian Myalgic Encephalomyelitis-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome case definition. American Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology. 2010:6;120¿135. Retrieved from http://www.scipub.org/fulltext/ajbb/ajbb62120-135.pdf
(6) Carruthers BM, van de Sande MI, De Meirleir KL, et al. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Criteria. J Intern Med. 2011 Jul 20. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2011.02428.x. [Epub ahead of print]
(7) Goudsmit EM, Shepherd C, Dancey CP, Howes S. ME: Chronic fatigue syndrome or a distinct clinical entity? Health Psychology Update, 2009, 18, 1, 26-33.
(8) Myhill S, Booth NE, McLaren-Howard J. Chronic fatigue syndrome and mitochondrial dysfunction. Int J Clin Exp Med. 2009;2(1):1-16. Epub 2009 Jan 15.
(9) Vermeulen RC, Scholte HR. Exploratory open label, randomized study of acetyl- and propionylcarnitine in chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychosom Med. 2004 Mar-Apr;66(2):276-82.
(10) Plioplys AV, Plioplys S. Amantadine and L-carnitine treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Neuropsychobiology. 1997;35(1):16-23.
(11) Arnold DL, Bore PJ, Radda GK, Styles P, Taylor DJ. Excessive intracellular acidosis of skeletal muscle on exercise in a patient with a post-viral exhaustion/fatigue syndrome. A 31P nuclear magnetic resonance study. Lancet. 1984 Jun 23;1(8391):1367-9.
(12) Jones DE, Hollingsworth KG, Jakovljevic DG, Fattakhova G, Pairman J, Blamire AM, Trenell MI, Newton JL. Loss of capacity to recover from acidosis on repeat exercise in chronic fatigue syndrome: a case-control study. Eur J Clin Invest. 2012 Feb;42(2):186-94.
(13) Lane RJ, Soteriou BA, Zhang H, Archard LC. Enterovirus related metabolic myopathy: a postviral fatigue syndrome. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003 Oct;74(10):1382-6.
(14) Jason, L.A., Corradi, K., Torres-Harding, S., Taylor, R.R., and King, C. (2005). Chronic fatigue syndrome: The need for subtypes.
Neuropsychology Review, 15, 29-58. PMID: 15929497
(15) De Becker P, McGregor N, De Meirleir K. A definition-based analysis of symptoms in a large cohort of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. J Intern Med. 2001 Sep;250(3):234-40.
Competing interests
I am the information officer of the Irish ME/CFS Association. All my work for the Irish ME/CFS Association is voluntary (i.e. unpaid)
Journal of Medical Case Reports
may be relevant for some patients diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome
30 July 2014
I would like to thank the authors for taking the time to write up this case report, as well as thanking the patient for giving permission for the use of her story.
I thought it was worth pointing out that the symptoms described by the authors and the patient would be quite similar to the symptoms patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) would report (1-7). I don't believe patients with an ME or CFS diagnosis are often assessed for a mitochondrial myopathy using the tests mentioned although a novel test did find evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction (8). At least two studies have found carnitine supplementation to be of benefit in patients diagnosed with CFS (9,10).
Excessive acidosis on exercise has been found in patients (11,12). One study, looking for an association with enterovirus infection, found that 58% of CFS patients had an abnormal lactate response to subanaerobic threshold exercise test (13).
CFS is increasingly recoognized as being heterogeneous (14). Despite its name, more symptoms than fatigue are generally associated with it (15). Mitochondrial problems could relevant for some patients even if they may not be relevant for all patients.
References:
(1) Fukuda K, Straus SE, Hickie I, Sharpe MC, Dobbins JG, Komaroff A. The chronic fatigue syndrome: A comprehensive approach to its definition and study. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1994;121:953-959.
(2) Sharpe MC, Archard LC, Banatvala JE, et al. A report--chronic fatigue syndrome: guidelines for research. J R Soc Med. 1991 Feb;84(2):118-21.
(3) Carruthers B, Jain A, de Meirleir K, Peterson D, Klimas N, Lemer A, et al.: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: clinical working case definition, diagnostic and treatment protocols. J Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 2003;11(1):7-33
(4) Holmes GP, Kaplan JE, Gantz NM, et al. Chronic fatigue syndrome: a working case definition. Ann Intern Med. 1988 Mar;108(3):387-9.
(5) Jason LA, Evans M, Porter N, et al. The development of a revised Canadian Myalgic Encephalomyelitis-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome case definition. American Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology. 2010:6;120¿135. Retrieved from http://www.scipub.org/fulltext/ajbb/ajbb62120-135.pdf
(6) Carruthers BM, van de Sande MI, De Meirleir KL, et al. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Criteria. J Intern Med. 2011 Jul 20. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2011.02428.x. [Epub ahead of print]
(7) Goudsmit EM, Shepherd C, Dancey CP, Howes S. ME: Chronic fatigue syndrome or a distinct clinical entity? Health Psychology Update, 2009, 18, 1, 26-33.
(8) Myhill S, Booth NE, McLaren-Howard J. Chronic fatigue syndrome and mitochondrial dysfunction. Int J Clin Exp Med. 2009;2(1):1-16. Epub 2009 Jan 15.
(9) Vermeulen RC, Scholte HR. Exploratory open label, randomized study of acetyl- and propionylcarnitine in chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychosom Med. 2004 Mar-Apr;66(2):276-82.
(10) Plioplys AV, Plioplys S. Amantadine and L-carnitine treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Neuropsychobiology. 1997;35(1):16-23.
(11) Arnold DL, Bore PJ, Radda GK, Styles P, Taylor DJ. Excessive intracellular acidosis of skeletal muscle on exercise in a patient with a post-viral exhaustion/fatigue syndrome. A 31P nuclear magnetic resonance study. Lancet. 1984 Jun 23;1(8391):1367-9.
(12) Jones DE, Hollingsworth KG, Jakovljevic DG, Fattakhova G, Pairman J, Blamire AM, Trenell MI, Newton JL. Loss of capacity to recover from acidosis on repeat exercise in chronic fatigue syndrome: a case-control study. Eur J Clin Invest. 2012 Feb;42(2):186-94.
(13) Lane RJ, Soteriou BA, Zhang H, Archard LC. Enterovirus related metabolic myopathy: a postviral fatigue syndrome. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003 Oct;74(10):1382-6.
(14) Jason, L.A., Corradi, K., Torres-Harding, S., Taylor, R.R., and King, C. (2005). Chronic fatigue syndrome: The need for subtypes.
Neuropsychology Review, 15, 29-58. PMID: 15929497
(15) De Becker P, McGregor N, De Meirleir K. A definition-based analysis of symptoms in a large cohort of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. J Intern Med. 2001 Sep;250(3):234-40.
Competing interests
I am the information officer of the Irish ME/CFS Association. All my work for the Irish ME/CFS Association is voluntary (i.e. unpaid)