ME/CFS Case Studies: Patient Damage by Physicians & ME/CFS Gait Characteristics

Below are highlights and links to a couple of recent case studies done on ME/CFS.

• Study Highlights Patient Damage Done by Physician Ignorance of ME/CFS

Patients seephysician scepticism & ignorance resulting in improper assessment & management. The objective of the study was to explore obstructions for quality care from experiences by patients suffering from ME/CFS.

Conclusion: Current medical scepticism and ignorance regarding CFS shapes the context of medical care and the illness experiences of CFS patients, who may feel they neither get a proper assessment nor management.

• Gait of ME/CFS Patients Abnormal By Several Measures

Findings reinforce hypothesis that the central nervous system is directly involved in onset of the illness.

Gait abnormalities have been reported in individuals with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) however no studies exist to date investigating the kinematics of individuals with CFS in over-ground gait. The aim of this study was to compare the over-ground gait pattern (sagittal kinematics and temporal and spatial) of individuals with CFS and control subjects at their self-selected and at matched velocities.

Conclusions: The self-selected gait velocity and/or pattern of individuals with CFS may be used to monitor the disease process or evaluate therapeutic intervention. These differences may be a reflection of the relatively low self-selected gait velocity of individuals with CFS rather than a manifestation of the condition itself.