Fibromyalgia Awareness

Completely confused by all the definitions of C.F.S., M.E., C.F.I.D.S., etc? You're not the only one.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (C.F.S.) is an umbrella term encompassing many different illnesses. Three of these conditions are abbreviated as M.E., despite differences between the diagnostic criteria. This has led to a lot of confusion and below I hope to clear up the confusion.

First of all, it is important to understand the meanings of the medical terminology that builds up the names of these conditions.

• My = muscle
• Algic = pain

• Encephalo = brain
• Mye = spinal cord
• Itis = inflammation
• Opathy = abnormality


The following conditions will be explained below:

Myalgic Encephalitis (including Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome)
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Myalgic Encephalopathy
Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome

Myalgic Encephalitis: Muscle pain, inflammation of the brain

The patient has muscle pain and inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis (brain inflammation) often develops following a viral infection. For this reason, Myalgic Encephalopathy is sometimes referred to as Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome (P.V.F.S.)

The viruses that most commonly cause Encephalitis are often common viruses, such as:

Enteroviruses (stomach bugs)
Epstein Barr (glandular fever, mononucleosis, HHV-4)
Herpes simplex (the cold sore virus)
Influenza
Mumps
Polioviruses
Rubella (German measles)
Rubeola (measles)
Varicella (chicken pox)


There are also many forms of Encephalitis-causing viral infections that are carried by ticks or mosquitoes. This has been demonstrated in outbreaks all over the world whenever infected ticks or mosquitoes are thriving. Some documented incidents of Encephalitis outbreaks include:

California Encephalitis
Colorado Tick Fever
Eastern Equine Encephalitis
Japanese Encephalitis
Murray Valley Encephalitis
St. Louis Encephalitis
Tick Borne Encephalitis (Early Summer Encephalitis)
West Nile Encephalitis (West Nile Fever)
Western Equine Encephalitis


Testing for Encephalitis:

Blood tests will be taken as the first step to discover any viral or bacterial infections that may cause Encephalitis.

Encephalitis can be tested for by a C.T. or M.R.I. scan (or both) to find out whether there are areas of swelling or fluid retention in the brain. C.T. and M.R.I. scans also help to rule out other possible causes of the symptoms, such as a brain tumour or brain lesions.

To find out if there is a viral or bacterial infection, the spinal fluid can be examined by a spinal tap (lumbar puncture). Spinal fluid is removed by inserting a needle into the lower back of the patient, between the bones of the spine.

An electroencephalogram (EEG) may also be used to confirm a diagnosis of Encephalitis. An EEG records the electrical activity in the brain and if Encephalitis is present then the EEG may show an abnormal increase or decrease in electrical activity.



Some people who have Encephalitis make a full recovery over a period of several months after the inflammation has gone. However, in some cases the brain is permanently damaged by the inflammation and the symptoms will continue even after the actual inflammation has gone.

Some forms of Encephalitis can be life-threatening, particularly when there is a viral cause, so it is important for a patient to begin treatment as soon as possible. This usually involves anti-viral and/or anti-biotic medications, anti-seizure medications or corticosteroids.

Encephalitis is a statutory notifiable disease. This means that the doctor who makes the diagnosis is responsible for reporting it to the local Public Health department.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: Muscle pain, inflammation of the spinal cord and brain

The symptoms of patients with Encephalomyelitis are due to inflammation of the spinal cord and brain.

Testing for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis will initially be the same as the testing for Myalgic Encephalitis. When Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) is present, the next step is to determine whether a patient has inflammation of the spinal cord. This is done by examining the spinal fluid via a spinal tap.

If there is inflammation of the spinal cord, then the patient is diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. When there is inflammation of the brain, but not of the spinal cord, the patient is diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalitis.

Myalgic Encephalopathy: Muscle pain, unspecified abnormality of the brain

This diagnosis is given when the patient does not have inflammation of the brain or spinal chord. The name indicates that the patient’s brainwaves may be out of sync, the brain may produce too little or too much of a certain chemical, or there may be brain lesions or another abnormality.

This is the vaguest of the “M.E.” titles and is the title used instead of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in many countries. In America C.F.S. has recently been renamed as M.E./C.F.S. in order to reduce the stigma that C.F.S. is only fatigue. M.E. is an abbreviation of Myalgic Encephalopathy in this case.

A diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome is given to patients whose symptoms are caused by their immune system functioning incorrectly.

C.F.I.D.S. patients have less Natural Killer cells than healthy people. Natural Killer cells are required to fight infection. As a result, the immune system of patients who suffer C.F.I.D.S. is unusually weak and C.F.I.D.S. patients take longer to recover from minor illnesses than healthy people. In the case of infection or virus, a C.F.I.D.S. patient experiences more exaggerated symptoms than a patient who is otherwise healthy.

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