Out-of-control immune system may trigger chronic fatigue

CHRONIC fatigue syndrome (CFS) may be triggered by an out-of-control immune system that overreacts to an illness or emotional stress, a study suggests.

Also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), it is a long-term illness, characterised by extreme tiredness, but the biology of the disease has remained a mystery.

Now researchers at King’s College London have discovered that some patients who were given drugs to ramp up their immune system to fight hepatitis C show similar symptoms to people suffering CFS.

Out of 55 patients studied, 18 developed lasting fatigue, suggesting that their boosted immune system had triggered long-term changes in the body.

Crucially, even before treatment, those who went on to develop lasting fatigue already had higher levels of biomarkers associated with inflammation, suggesting that their immune system had already been primed to over-respond.

Dr Alice Russell, the lead researcher from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s, said: “Our findings suggest that people who have an exaggerated immune response to a trigger may be more at risk of developing CFS.”

In Britain, 250,000 people are affected by CFS, with one in four so severely affected they are rendered housebound or bedbound, with some even needing to be fed via a tube.

The research is published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.