Possible Causes Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

There has not been any one specific cause that has been isolated to explain why chronic fatigue syndrome occurs. Chronic fatigue syndrome often shows up after a person has gotten over a cold, the flu or any other type of viral infection. Often CFS begins when a person is suffering from a great deal of emotional stress or sometimes it is physical stress. Sometimes the disease appears all of the sudden and it is intense right away whereas other times it develops very gradually and gains in intensity slowly, with no obvious point of origin. Research studies into the causes of CFS has been going on for over two decades and still there are no clear cut conclusions on what causes chronic fatigue syndrome to start in some individuals and not others.

There are a number of theories that have been proposed to explain the incidence of chronic fatigue syndrome. Let us take a brief look at each one of those theories beginning with the theory that CFS is caused by viral infections. Enteroviruses are believed by some researchers to be the cause of CFS and these include such viruses as the herpes viruses (examples of these include the Epstein-Barr virus, human herpes virus types six as well as seven, herpes simplex virus types one as well as two, and the cytomegalovirus), the Coxsackie virus, the stealth virus, the retroviruses as well as a selection of other viruses.

Bacterial infections are sometimes proposed as a possible cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. These include such infections as tick-borne bacterial diseases such as Lyme disease, Q fever and Rickettsia as well as other bacterial infections such as the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia, brucella and mycoplasma. Sometimes food-borne bacterial infections are believed to cause CFS and these include such conditions as E coli, Campylobacter jejuni, salmonella, Clostridium botulism, shigella, cholera and ciguatera. But that is not all. Other known food-borne bacterial infections include Listeria monocytogenes, toxoplasma, and Yersinia enterocolitica.

Parasitic infections such as tapeworms, flatworms, Giardia, cyclospora cayetanensis, E histolytica as well as trichinella spiralis and cryptosporidium parvum are theorized to cause CFS as are fungal infections such as chronic yeast infections which are related to the overgrowth of the yeast Candida albicans in the body.

Allergies, autoimmune disease and a “leaky gut” are all forms of immune system dysfunctions that are thought to be connected to CFS as are hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis conditions and dysfunctions. The latter includes such problems as hypothyroidism, growth hormone deficiency and hypoadrenalism/adrenal insufficiency.

Neurochemical imbalances can bring on CFS and these include such things as low or blocked serotonin and/or endorphin levels, blocked GABA (which stands for gamma-aminobutyric acid), too much Substance P and too much NMDA in the body.

Autonomic nervous system dysfunctions and or dysautonomias are sometimes linked to CFS and these include neurally mediated hypotension (NMH) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Heart problems such as abnormal pumping of the heart and cardiac viral infection are believed to be at fault for chronic fatigue syndrome.

Other possible causes given for the development of CFS include exposure to certain toxins and/or chemicals, as well as nutritional deficiencies such as a lack of vitamin B12 or magnesium, trauma or imbalance in the musculoskeletal system such as a neck injury or whiplash sustained in an accident and finally sleep disorders combined with an excess amount of stress.

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