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| Causes of ME/CFS |
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| There are many factors linked with ME/CFS2-8. These include: bacterial, fungal or viral infections, including the Epstein Barr Virus9 and enteroviruses10-13, multiple courses of antibiotics, vaccinations, severe emotional distress, operations, pregnancy and toxin overload. The question is though, what form these links take. |
| Are the factors causes of ME/CFS or are they associations etc? From the research we have studied2-13 and our experiences with ME/CFS; we believe the relationship is, for the most part, non-causal. It can be observed that when most of the population are exposed to these physiological and psychological demands they do not continue to contract ME/CFS. It therefore follows that there must be some reason why a proportion of people who are exposed to these factors go on to contract ME/CFS and others recover. It is this difference which is critical. It is also worth pointing out that some ME/CFS sufferers slowly develop the condition without the factors mentioned above, which gives further evidence that they might not be as significant as they first appear. |
We would surmise the afore mentioned factors in ME/CFS, for the most part, merely precipitate the condition. We believe the impetus behind the disease lies not in the triggers but in the degree of resting stress response; the degree of drive, tension or anxiety a person feels whilst there is little significant external stimulus. Recent scientific hypotheses have corroborated this opinion; suggesting ‘sustained arousal’ (the neurological effect caused by higher than normal resting stress levels) leads to ME/CFS14. And separately ‘HPA axis dysfunction reflects a crash in the stress system’15,16, in addition to, CFS leads from a dysfunction of the HPA axis17. An understanding of the HPA axis and its impact on ME/CFS can be gained from the next section.
* So why do people with ME/CFS have higher than normal resting stress levels?
* Treatments for ME/CFS
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