AretnaP
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Caught in the thickness of brain fog: exploring the cognitive symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Much research has studied CBF alterations in CFS. Early work measured regional CBF using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in those with CFS. Ichise et al. (1992) found that 80% of CFS subjects exhibited decreased regional CBF particularly in the frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, and basal ganglia regions compared to control subjects without CFS or other neurological/neuropsychiatric disorders. Similarly using SPECT, Schwartz et al. (1994) found decreased regional CBF in CFS subjects in the frontal and temporal lobes. Costa et al. (1995) studied brainstem perfusion in CFS subjects and found hypoperfusion compared to both control subjects and subjects with major depression. However, work by Fischler et al. (1996) did not find significant differences in regional CBF between CFS and control subjects, and MacHale et al. (2000) actually found increased CBF in CFS subjects in the thalamus, pallidum, and putamen regions. Technical differences with SPECT and methodological inconsistencies between studies may account for the contradictory results.
Other techniques of measuring CBF have been applied to determine whether decreased CBF does occur in CFS. Positron emission tomography was used by Tirelli et al. (1998) to look at cerebral metabolism in CFS subjects. They found that CFS subjects exhibited hypometabolism in the right mediofrontal cortex and brainstem compared to control subjects (Tirelli et al., 1998). Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is another method which looks at changes in brain oxygenation of hemoglobin. NIRS measurements by Tanaka et al. (2002) found that CFS subjects had lower brain oxy-hemoglobin while standing upright compared to control subjects. This suggests that orthostatic stress may negatively influence cerebral oxygenation in CFS. Similarly, Patrick et al. (2008) used NIRS during maximal incremental cycle exercise in female CFS subjects. They found that the CFS subjects exhibited exercise intolerance that was associated with decreased prefrontal oxygenation (Patrick et al., 2008). Additionally, Natelson et al. used more advanced imaging techniques of Xenon gas diffusion computerized tomography (Yoshiuchi et al., 2006) and magnetic resonance arterial spin labeling (Biswal et al., 2011) to demonstrate reduced total CBF in CFS subjects compared to controls, especially in CFS subjects without psychiatric comorbidities.
Caught in the thickness of brain fog: exploring the cognitive symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Much research has studied CBF alterations in CFS. Early work measured regional CBF using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in those with CFS. Ichise et al. (1992) found that 80% of CFS subjects exhibited decreased regional CBF particularly in the frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, and basal ganglia regions compared to control subjects without CFS or other neurological/neuropsychiatric disorders. Similarly using SPECT, Schwartz et al. (1994) found decreased regional CBF in CFS subjects in the frontal and temporal lobes. Costa et al. (1995) studied brainstem perfusion in CFS subjects and found hypoperfusion compared to both control subjects and subjects with major depression. However, work by Fischler et al. (1996) did not find significant differences in regional CBF between CFS and control subjects, and MacHale et al. (2000) actually found increased CBF in CFS subjects in the thalamus, pallidum, and putamen regions. Technical differences with SPECT and methodological inconsistencies between studies may account for the contradictory results.
Other techniques of measuring CBF have been applied to determine whether decreased CBF does occur in CFS. Positron emission tomography was used by Tirelli et al. (1998) to look at cerebral metabolism in CFS subjects. They found that CFS subjects exhibited hypometabolism in the right mediofrontal cortex and brainstem compared to control subjects (Tirelli et al., 1998). Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is another method which looks at changes in brain oxygenation of hemoglobin. NIRS measurements by Tanaka et al. (2002) found that CFS subjects had lower brain oxy-hemoglobin while standing upright compared to control subjects. This suggests that orthostatic stress may negatively influence cerebral oxygenation in CFS. Similarly, Patrick et al. (2008) used NIRS during maximal incremental cycle exercise in female CFS subjects. They found that the CFS subjects exhibited exercise intolerance that was associated with decreased prefrontal oxygenation (Patrick et al., 2008). Additionally, Natelson et al. used more advanced imaging techniques of Xenon gas diffusion computerized tomography (Yoshiuchi et al., 2006) and magnetic resonance arterial spin labeling (Biswal et al., 2011) to demonstrate reduced total CBF in CFS subjects compared to controls, especially in CFS subjects without psychiatric comorbidities.
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