The follow-up to a 2011 landmark study shows that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may not be a chronic condition after all – and that increased exercise and thinking positive thoughts could be instrumental in beating the symptoms.
The research team from Oxford University, King’s College London, and Queen Mary University of London followed up with patients from their 2011 The Lancet-published trial called PACE, wherein they investigated four likely CFS treatments. In this study, cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercise therapy outperformed standard medical care and adaptive pacing therapy (APT) in beating CFS, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
Two and a half years after the start of the treatment, the team found that three-quarters of the original participants who took part in the follow-up, the fatigue and physical function improvements originally seen from behavioral therapy and exercise were maintained in the long term.
“[This] tells us that these treatments can improve the long-term health of people with CFS,” said author Professor Michael Sharpe from Oxford University, adding that those who underwent behavioral therapy and exercise were less likely to have sought additional interventions than those who had standard care or APT alone.
No significant differences among the four treatments emerged, showing no proof that those who got behavioral help or exercise were more likely to worsen over time.
Queen Mary University of London Professor Peter White said that while there are no significant differences, the findings also remind that not all treatments work and that further research is needed to find out what helps patients.
The PACE study sparked criticism in 2011, with some groups saying it suggested that CFS/ME is psychological rather than physical in nature.
Oct. 21 this year, journalist David Tuller put out a four-part series examining the research, writing that CFS/ME patients “bristled with offense” upon recommendation of healing “if only they could change their perceptions” about their illness. Tuller added that it could result in “a serious and extended relapse” when patients push themselves to be more active.
The primary symptoms of CFS include persistent physical and mental exhaustion that does not go away with sleeping or resting. The condition could be characterized by muscle or joint pain, severe headaches, poor short-term memory, painful lymph nodes, stomach pain, sore throat, and psychological difficulties.
Most patients describe the fatigue they are experiencing as overwhelming – a separate kind of tiredness from what the sufferer previously went through.
Photo: Lachlan Hardy | Flickr
