Skip to main content
Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 1994 Mar; 1(2): 222–226.
doi: 10.1128/cdli.1.2.222-226.1994
PMCID: PMC368231
PMID: 7496949

Effects of mild exercise on cytokines and cerebral blood flow in chronic fatigue syndrome patients.

P K Peterson, S A Sirr, F C Grammith, C H Schenck, A M Pheley, S Hu, and C C Chao
Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer

Abstract

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an idiopathic disorder characterized by fatigue that is markedly exacerbated by physical exertion. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that mild exercise (walking 1 mph [1 mile = 1.609 km] for 30 min) would provoke serum cytokine and cerebral blood flow abnormalities of potential pathogenic importance in CFS. Interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha were nondetectable in sera of CFS patients (n = 10) and healthy control subjects (n = 10) pre- and postexercise. At rest, serum transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) levels were elevated in the CFS group compared with the control group (287 +/- 18 versus 115 +/- 5 pg/ml, respectively; P < 0.01). Serum TGF-beta and cerebral blood flow abnormalities, detected by single-photon emission-computed tomographic scanning, were accentuated postexercise in the CFS group. Although these findings were not significantly different from those in the control group, the effect of exercise on serum TGF-beta and cerebral blood flow appeared magnified in the CFS patients. Results of this study encourage future research on the interaction of physical exertion, serum cytokines, and cerebral blood flow in CFS that will adopt a more rigorous exercise program than the one used in this study.

Full text

Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (959K), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.

 
icon of scanned page 222
222
icon of scanned page 223
223
icon of scanned page 224
224
icon of scanned page 225
225
icon of scanned page 226
226
 

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  • Blouin AG, Perez EL, Blouin JH. Computerized administration of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Psychiatry Res. 1988 Mar;23(3):335–344. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Chao CC, DeLaHunt M, Hu S, Close K, Peterson PK. Immunologically mediated fatigue: a murine model. Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1992 Aug;64(2):161–165. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Chao CC, Janoff EN, Hu SX, Thomas K, Gallagher M, Tsang M, Peterson PK. Altered cytokine release in peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome. Cytokine. 1991 Jul;3(4):292–298. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Holmes GP, Kaplan JE, Gantz NM, Komaroff AL, Schonberger LB, Straus SE, Jones JF, Dubois RE, Cunningham-Rundles C, Pahwa S, et al. Chronic fatigue syndrome: a working case definition. Ann Intern Med. 1988 Mar;108(3):387–389. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Ho-Yen DO, Carrington D, Armstrong AA. Myalgic encephalomyelitis and alpha-interferon. Lancet. 1988 Jan 16;1(8577):125–125. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Ichise M, Salit IE, Abbey SE, Chung DG, Gray B, Kirsh JC, Freedman M. Assessment of regional cerebral perfusion by 99Tcm-HMPAO SPECT in chronic fatigue syndrome. Nucl Med Commun. 1992 Oct;13(10):767–772. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Linde A, Andersson B, Svenson SB, Ahrne H, Carlsson M, Forsberg P, Hugo H, Karstorp A, Lenkei R, Lindwall A, et al. Serum levels of lymphokines and soluble cellular receptors in primary Epstein-Barr virus infection and in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. J Infect Dis. 1992 Jun;165(6):994–1000. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Lloyd A, Hickie I, Brockman A, Dwyer J, Wakefield D. Cytokine levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and control subjects. J Infect Dis. 1991 Nov;164(5):1023–1024. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Morganti-Kossmann MC, Kossmann T, Wahl SM. Cytokines and neuropathology. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 1992 Jul;13(7):286–291. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Mowbray JF, Yousef GE. Immunology of postviral fatigue syndrome. Br Med Bull. 1991 Oct;47(4):886–894. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Peterson PK, Schenck CH, Sherman R. Chronic fatigue syndrome in Minnesota. Minn Med. 1991 May;74(5):21–26. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Roberts AB, Sporn MB. Transforming growth factor beta. Adv Cancer Res. 1988;51:107–145. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Schluederberg A, Straus SE, Peterson P, Blumenthal S, Komaroff AL, Spring SB, Landay A, Buchwald D. NIH conference. Chronic fatigue syndrome research. Definition and medical outcome assessment. Ann Intern Med. 1992 Aug 15;117(4):325–331. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • Straus SE, Dale JK, Peter JB, Dinarello CA. Circulating lymphokine levels in the chronic fatigue syndrome. J Infect Dis. 1989 Dec;160(6):1085–1086. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Articles from Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)