Functional Somatic Syndromes
Authors: Kenneth Clemenger
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2000)

Letters15 February 2000Functional Somatic SyndromesKenneth Clemenger, BSKenneth Clemenger, BSPhoenix, AZ 85029 (Clemenger)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-132-4-200002150-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:As an electrical engineer disabled for 11 years by the chronic fatigue syndrome, I was shocked and angered by Barsky and Borus's article (1). Without any evidence of clinical experience treating this syndrome, the authors lump it with several other syndromes and draw conclusions about treating the syndrome from articles written about completely different and distinct syndromes. Particularly disturbing for a scholarly journal, they leave out any reference to the definition of chronic fatigue syndrome that was published in Annals(2). They make no mention of several peer-reviewed articles that show distinct physiologic symptoms of the syndrome (3-5) ...References1. Barsky AJ, Borus JF. Functional somatic syndromes. Ann Intern Med. 1999;130:910-21. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Fukuda K, Straus SE, Hickie I, Sharpe MC, Dobbins JG, Komaroff A. The chronic fatigue syndrome: a comprehensive approach to its definition and study. International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Study Group. Ann Intern Med. 1994;121:953-9. LinkGoogle Scholar3. Bou-Holaigah I, Rowe PC, Kan J, Calkins H. The relationship between neurally mediated hypotension and the chronic fatigue syndrome. JAMA. 1995;274:961-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Demitrack MA, Dale JK, Straus SE, Laue L, Listwak SJ, Kruesi MJ, et al . Evidence for impaired activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1991;73:1224-34. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Schwartz RB, Garada BM, Komaroff AL, Tice HM, Gleit M, Jolesz FA, et al . Detection of intracranial abnormalities in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: comparison of MR imaging and SPECT. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1994;162:935-41. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Phoenix, AZ 85029 (Clemenger) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoFunctional Somatic Syndromes Arthur J. Barsky and Jonathan F. Borus Functional Somatic Syndromes Allan Clemenger Functional Somatic Syndromes Ellen Goudsmit Functional Somatic Syndromes Melody Heard Functional Somatic Syndromes Frank Albrecht Functional Somatic Syndromes Thomas L. English Functional Somatic Syndromes Thomas L. Kurt Functional Somatic Syndromes Arthur J. Barsky and Jonathan F. Borus Functional Somatic Syndromes Terry E. Hedrick Functional Somatic Syndromes James McSherry Metrics Cited ByCentral Sensitivity Syndromes: A New Paradigm and Group Nosology for Fibromyalgia and Overlapping Conditions, and the Related Issue of Disease versus IllnessTemporomandibular disorder is associated with a serotonin transporter gene polymorphism in the Japanese populationMedically unexplained physical symptoms in medical practice: a psychiatric perspective.The Blame-X syndrome 15 February 2000Volume 132, Issue 4Page: 327-328KeywordsChronic fatigue syndromeEngineersFallsForecastingHealth services researchPeer review Issue Published: 15 February 2000 CopyrightCopyright © 2000 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...