"One of these medications may prove more effective than fludrocortisone in treating NMH among those with CFS," says Rowe. "Over 60 percent of the patients we screened for this study had abnormal heart rate and blood pressure responses during tilt testing, and most had worse symptoms brought on early in the test. Their responses to upright posture suggest a need to better define the optimal way to treat NMH in people with CFS. In the patients we studied, clearly, fludrocortisone alone was insufficient."
CFS affects approximately one of every 250 Americans. Although profound fatigue is a defining feature of the syndrome, other important problems include difficulty with memory and concentration, sleep disturbance, muscle aches, and headaches. The causes of CFS are not known. Treatment is aimed at relieving individual symptoms. No medication has been found effective in treating the disorder as a whole.
'"/>
Contact: Staci Vernick
svernick@jhmi.edu
410-223-1747
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
3-Jan-2001