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Chronic fatigue glossary
A
abdominal pain
- CFS symptom most common in teenage sufferers.
acupuncture
- Alternative treatment for chronic fatigue symptoms.
acute phase
- A relatively severe, but short and sharp course of a disease; not chronic.
antidepressants
- Pharmaceutical agents used for treating clinical depression.
anti-inflammatory
- Agents that reduce inflammation without directly antagonizing the causing agent.
anxiety disorders
- Also known as anxiety neurosis or anxiety reaction. A condition caused by psychologic and physiologic factors, which can take two general forms: acute anxiety (panic disorder) or chronic anxiety.
axillary lymph nodes
- Lymphoid organs located near the shoulder joint.
B
bipolar affective disorder
- A mood disorder that begins with depression and is characterized by at least one period of elation sometime during the course of the illness.
C
case-control study
- An epidemiologic study that examines selected patients who have a defined disease (cases) with persons without the disease (controls).
case definition
- In the example of CFS, a combination of symptoms, signs, and physiologic characteristics that serve to distinguish a case of chronic fatigue syndrome from other disease states.
chronic
- Of long duration, denoting a disease of slow progress and long continuance.
chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS)
- A synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome used by some patients and physicians. It should be stressed, however, that no immune dysfunction or aberration has been persuasively linked to chronic fatigue syndrome.
D
depression
- A neurotic or psychotic condition marked by an inability to concentrate, insomnia, and feelings of dejection and guilt.
E
eosinophilia myalgia syndrome (EMS)
- A disease caused by marked promotion of eosinophil activity, resulting in a symptom complex of severe pain, inflammation of the tendons, fluid build-up in the muscles, and skin rash. The disorder has been linked to a contaminant of some commercial preparations of the amino acid L-tryptophan.
epidemiology
- The branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population.
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)
- One of the eight known types of human herpesviruses, also known as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4). It belongs to the gamma subfamily of herpesviruses. It commonly causes acute mononucleosis, and less commonly chronic mononucleosis. It some populations EBV is causally associated with life-threatening malignancies (Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngial carcinoma).
etiology
- Causal association of a disease with an agent. The study of the cause of diseases
F
fibromyalgia
- Also known as myofascial pain syndrome and fibromyositis. A group of common rheumatoid disorders (not involving the joints) characterized by achy pain, tenderness, and stiffness of muscles.
G
globulin
- A family of proteins found in abundance in plasma. They include the gamma globulins, which in turn include the various antibody molecules produced by the immune system.
H
hematologic
- Having to do with the blood.
I
idiopathic
- Denoting a disease of unknown cause.
imaging tests
- Any of a variety of methods for observing the internal anatomy of the body, ranging from simple x-rays to complex three-dimensional scanning techniques using nuclear magnetic resonance, positron emission, and other techniques.
insomnia
- Inability to sleep even in the absence of external impediments, during the period when sleep should normally occur.
L
lymph node
- Secondary immune organs distributed at discrete locations throughout the body. These organs play a central role in the activation and trafficking of immune lymphocytes in the body.
M
multiple chemical sensitivity disorder
- A controversial diagnosis of an allergy-like sensitivity to an unusually broad range and number of substances. This condition has not been subjected to rigorous scientific scrutiny, and there is considerable doubt as to whether or not it actually exists.
myalgic encephalomyelitis
- A synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome in common usage in the United Kingdom and Canada
N
neurasthenia
- Nervous exhaustion. A functional neurosis marked by intense nervous irritability and weakness.
neuromyasthenia
- Muscular weakness, usually of emotional origin.
O
orthostatic intolerance
- Intolerance to upright positions.
P
period prevalence
- The number of existing cases of an illness during a period or interval, divided by the average population.
PWC
- Stands for Person With CFS.
R
retrovirus
- A family of RNA viruses that have the unique characteristic of producing an enzyme that makes a DNA copy of its genetic information from an RNA template (the opposite of what normally takes place). The most widely recognized of these viruses is HIV, the causative agent in AIDS. Another virus from this family (HTLV-1) has been associated with T cell leukemia. Initial reports of an association of an HTLV-II-like retrovirus with CFS could not be confirmed in subsequent studies.
S
sleep apnea
- A group of potentially lethal disorders in which breathing recurrently stops during sleep for long enough to cause measurable blood deoxygenation.
sleep disturbance
- Common difficulty, often reported in chronic fatigue disease.
subacute
- A zone between acute and chronic, denoting the course of a disease.
T
titer
- The concentration of a substance in a solution, or the strength of such a substance detected by titration. In the current context, the term is most likely to refer to antibody titer, which is a measure of the concentration of specific antibodies to selected microbes that are circulating in an individual's bloodstream.
V
vitamin
- A group of organic micronutrients, present in minute quantities in natural foodstuffs, that are essential to normal metabolism.
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