Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. Dilemmas in diagnosis and clinical management

Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1998 Sep;21(3):671-92, viii. doi: 10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70031-9.

Abstract

There has been a resurgence of interest in recent years in both chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. These perplexing and common clinical conditions are a source of significant patient morbidity and frame one of the more enduring dilemmas of contemporary Western medical thought, namely the ambiguous interface between mind and body. In this article, the current definitions are reviewed, and a framework for an emerging psychobiological model of these syndromes is presented. These issues are synthesized into a pragmatic approach to clinical management.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Behavior Therapy
  • Complementary Therapies
  • Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
  • Depressive Disorder / physiopathology
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / diagnosis*
  • Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / physiopathology
  • Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / therapy
  • Female
  • Fibromyalgia / diagnosis*
  • Fibromyalgia / physiopathology
  • Fibromyalgia / therapy
  • Glucocorticoids / deficiency
  • Guidelines as Topic
  • Humans
  • Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / physiopathology
  • Immune Tolerance
  • Male
  • Medical History Taking / methods
  • Pituitary-Adrenal System / physiopathology
  • Psychotherapy

Substances

  • Glucocorticoids