Downloaded from http://jim.bmj.com/ on April 7, 2017 - Published by group.bmj.com Original research CNS findings in chronic fatigue syndrome and a neuropathological case report Kimberly Ferrero,1 Mitchell Silver,1 Alan Cocchetto,2 Eliezer Masliah,3 Dianne Langford1 1Lewis Katz School of ABSTRACT Medicine at Temple Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterized as a Significance of this study University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA persistent, debilitating complex disorder of unknown 2State University of etiology, whereby patients suffer from extreme New York at Alfred, fatigue, which often presents with symptoms that What is already known about this Engineering Technologies, include chronic pain, depression, weakness, mood subject? Alfred, New York, USA disturbances, and neuropsychological impairment. In ▸ 3University of California San Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is 6 months Diego, La Jolla, California, this mini review and case report, we address central or more of persistent cognitive and physical USA nervous system (CNS) involvement of CFS and fatigue, with brain-related symptoms present neuropathological autopsy findings from a varying among patients Correspondence to patient who died with a prior diagnosis of CFS. ▸ CFS is classified as a neurological disorder Dianne Langford, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Among the most remarkable pathological features of and increasing evidence supports CFS as a Temple University, the case are focal areas of white matter loss, neurite disease of the nervous and immune 3500 North Broad Street, beading, and neuritic pathology of axons in the systems MERB 750, Philadelphia, white matter with axonal spheroids. Atypical ▸ In the central nervous system (CNS), CFS PA 19140, USA; neurons displaying aberrant sprouting processes in
[email protected] may be triggered by exposure to response to injury are observed throughout cortical radionuclides, viral or microbial infection, Accepted 14 March 2017 gray and white matter.