Symptoms may fluctuate with the monthly hormonal cycle in women sufferers. Treatment Without knowing the cause of CFS, it is difficult to identify effective treatments. The old adage that the greater the number of remedies the less likely there is a cure seems to hold good in this case. Several methods of treating CFS have been tried using drugs and non-drug therapies, such as cognitive behaviour therapy and psychotherapy. A review concluded that ''although there had been reports in limited numbers of patients claiming benefit for various treatments, none had consistently proved to be effective''.
Drug therapy tends to be for symptomatic relief.
PolyI poly C is also being studied. Antidepressants that have been studied with reference to CFS include fluoxetine, phenelzine and moclobemide. Other antidepressants used include prothiaden and sertraline. Almost three-quarters of those taking the EFA combination in the trial rated themselves better compared to only 17 per cent in the control. It may be that EFAs inhibit viral replication of viruses, which acquire their lipid envelope from the host cell membranes.