基本説明
Presents and objective and comprehensive review of an illness characterized by the symptom of chronic and severe fatigue, in the absence of an alternative medical condition mixing medical, psychological, social, and historical perspectives.
Full Description
Chronic fatigue and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS - also known as ME) has been the subject of intense media debate over recent years. Such interest has been partially due to the scarcity of professional and scientific explorations of the topic - what is it, and what causes it? One school of thought argues that there is no medical basis to chronic fatigue and hence any such investigation is fruitless. An alternative view is that we should look at CFS purely as a physical problem, and that to attempt any psychological perspective is to trivialize the illness in the eyes of the sufferers. This text presents a comprehensive review of the problem of chronic fatigue, mixing medical, psychological, social, and historical perspectives. The book examines the historical origins of CFS, considering the epidemiology, and the various aetiological theories for the condition - viral, immunological, psychological, psychiatric, and neurological. The book concludes with a clinical section discussing the assessment and treatment of CFS.
Contents
The nature of fatigue; epidemiology of fatigue; physical mechanisms of fatigue; fatigue and emotional disorders; neurasthenia; chronic fatigue syndrome; chronic fatigue syndrome - definition, epidemiology, presentation, prognosis; muscle and nerve; viruses, immunity, and CFS; chronic fatigue syndrome and psychiatric disorders; the neurobiology of CFS; the role of psychological factors in CFS; CFS in children; other fatigue syndromes; chronic fatigue syndrome - a social history of 20th-century illness; chronic fatigue syndrome - assessment; treatment of CFS - the evidence; the treatment of the patient with CFS.
