What Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ( CFS )?
The names Fatigue Syndrome (FS), or often shortened fatigue (French for fatigue, exhaustion translated) are used in medicine in different contexts. Fatigue is a symptom that accompanies various chronic diseases; it may also constitute an independent disease, according to current international opinion. The ICD-10 provides for this purpose the diagnosis of "neurasthenia".
While standard medical dictionaries do not list the expression fatigue either, for, as the Pschyrembel, or simply translated as "exhaustion", FS is often used in Germany as a term for a conditional cancer syndrome. The word is used of these German physicians primarily in the treatment of cancer patients in oncology and palliative care. In the English literature is for this specific reason, however, the term Cancer Fatigue usual.
In contrast, Fatigue by other doctors as a general exhaustion symptoms, as a result of severe chronic heart and lung disease or other chronic diseases such as sarcoidosis, rheumatoid vasculitis, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, AIDS, lupus erythematosus, Crohn's disease, ankylosing spondylitis (Morbus spondylitis) and pulmonary hypertension used. Fibromyalgia can result in a severe form of fatigue.
Separate from this is: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS, ICD-10 G93.3), which has a similar symptom complex, however, be construed as an independent disease, currently still relatively unknown cause. It is described in detail in reference articles.
Under Fatigue continue to fall not the burn-out syndrome (Z73.0) or other non-specific fatigue, malaise and fatigue as the (R53) to be classified.
The English Wikipedia is expressed in separate articles on chronic fatigue syndrome CFS to both the (for historical reasons) is very different diseases and their names are according to current knowledge on fatigue in the international sense, as well as the history of their exploration.
Pathogenesis of cancer
The pathogenesis of fatigue syndrome in cancer is not yet clear. Mostly it is considered to be multifactorial etiology involving the psychological factors in cancer patients, blood dyscrasias and nutrition influences. For them, the fatigue is caused by the disease itself or in conjunction with chemotherapy or radiation. They usually keeps weeks to months after the treatment period and also affects the quality of life often considerable. Typical features include a persistent weakness and fatigue despite adequate sleep phases, an excessive demand even at low loads and a significant decrease in activity in the private and professional environment.
A study by the University of Iowa showed an association between pain and fatigue, which could explain why more women than men suffer from chronic pain disorders. Through an experiment on mice found that male animals are protected against muscle pain and fatigue by a combination of testosterone and the protein ASIC3.
Therapy for cancer
Therapeutically primarily to a compensation of a possibly existing anemia (anemia) is possibly also exerted by blood transfusions and a carefully dosed physical endurance training in oncology.