Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction (CFIDS) is also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).

CFIDS is a disabling condition often affecting the central nervous system, brain, blood, muscles, joints, GI tract and lymph system. Symptoms include disabling fatigue which is not significantly helped by rest, orthostatic intolerance (inability to stand for periods of time), muscle weakness and pain, joint pain, sleep disturbances and un-refreshing sleep, cognitive problems including memory loss and difficulty concentrating, gastro-intestinal problems, headache, fevers and swollen lymph nodes.

The goal of the National CFIDS Foundation is to fund science to prove the cause along with a treatment or cure. A portion of all membership dues goes toward this along with all donations with no percentage held back. Although we feel we are close, we will continue to follow up on any leads until our goal is fully met.

Important research has already been funded by our all volunteer charity that found a slow decimation of a part of the immune system called Stat-1 which can only be caused by a limited number of viruses and bacteria. Our funding also found the reason why patients had dramatically adverse effects from anesthesia and how to prevent that as well as scientific proof that CFIDS/ME is an autoimmune disease. Our work will continue until the cause has been proven. At that time, we will, gratefully, be able to "go out of existence."

What's in a Name?

The illness currently called Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction (CFIDS) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is poorly defined, misunderstood, and controversial while remaining under-funded and under-researched. 

The names CFIDS and CFS trivialize the illness and subject patients to incredulity and ridicule. The CFS label not only fails to help those with ME, it harms them because treatments considered effective for CFS can make ME patients worse. Simply “renaming” CFS will not solve this problem.

Read and sign the  https://ncf-net.org/petition.htm - petition  we co-sponsor to try to have the United States government recognize the name and case definition of the internationally recognized neurological disease, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).*

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_condition - chronic illness . People with ME/CFS experience profound  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue - fatigue  that does not go away with rest, sleep issues, and problems with memory or concentration. Further common symptoms include  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizziness - dizziness ,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausea - nausea  and pain. ^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myalgic_encephalomyelitis/chronic_fatigue_syndrome#cite_note-CDCsym2024-3 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myalgic_encephalomyelitis/chronic_fatigue_syndrome#cite_note-IQWiG-2023-10 - The cause of the disease is unknown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myalgic_encephalomyelitis/chronic_fatigue_syndrome#cite_note-CDC_Clinical2024-11 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myalgic_encephalomyelitis/chronic_fatigue_syndrome#cite_note-Bateman-2021-12 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myalgic_encephalomyelitis/chronic_fatigue_syndrome#cite_note-Dibble_McGrath_Ponting_2020_p.-13 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myalgic_encephalomyelitis/chronic_fatigue_syndrome#cite_note-pmid38443223-14 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myalgic_encephalomyelitis/chronic_fatigue_syndrome#cite_note-pmid37226227-7 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myalgic_encephalomyelitis/chronic_fatigue_syndrome - Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome  (ME/CFS) has a long history with an evolution in medical understanding, diagnoses and social perceptions.}

In the early 19th century, the diagnosis of  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurasthenia - neuresthenia  was popular, which had overlaps with current ME/CFS criteria. Various outbreaks of enigmatic disease occurred in the early 20th century, variably known as atypical poliomyelitis,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akureyri_disease - Akureyri disease  or epidemic neuromyasthenia.

After an outbreak in the Royal Free Hospital in London, the disease became known as benign myalgic encephalomyelitis. Controversy erupted when psychiatrists who had not spoken to any of the patients called the outbreak a case of "mass hysteria". The first case definition of ME was published in 1986, and the first definition of CFS in 1988.

The illness gained national attention in the United States when the popular magazine Hippocrates ran a cover story of an epidemic at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tahoe - Lake Tahoe ,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada - Nevada , in the mid-1980s. ^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-OslersWeb-34 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-pmid2578266-35 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-pmid2578268-36 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-Hippocrates-37 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-isbn0-19-263049-0-38 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-isbn0801879426-39 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-Holmes1988-40 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-41 - In 1990, researchers presented evidence they found  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA - DNA  sequences very similar to the human  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTLV-II - HTLV-II retrovirus  in some CFS patients, at a conference in  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto,_Japan - Kyoto, Japan . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-DOI_10.1126-42 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-NYT-43 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-pmid_1672770-44 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-PTL-45 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-Retroviral-46 - In the United Kingdom, the  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Medical_Officer - Chief Medical Officer   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Calman - Kenneth Calman  requested a report from the medical Royal Colleges in 1996. This led to the publication of a joint report in which the term "chronic fatigue syndrome" was found to be most representative. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-47 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-CMOrept2002-48 - The U.S.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_%26_Prevention - Centers for Disease Control & Prevention  (CDC) recognize CFS as a serious illness, and launched a campaign in June 2006 to raise public and medical awareness about it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-CDCBasic-49 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ME/CFS#cite_note-CDC-awareness-50 -}

In this review, we compare the symptoms of Long COVID and ME/CFS, noting considerable similarities and some differences. Early in the study of both illnesses, the lack of objective biomarkers led some to question whether the illnesses were “real”—whether people might be imagining or even fabricating their symptoms.

In this review we summarize the emerging evidence that, in fact, there are many underlying biological abnormalities reported in both illnesses, documented by multiple laboratories. Moreover, we show that the two illnesses share many of these underlying abnormalities, just as they share many symptoms. That is, both illnesses are “real,” and both share similar biological abnormalities.

Understanding the underlying biology of these illnesses is critically important, given the burden they are placing on all societies. The National Academy of Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that, in the U.S., ME/CFS affects up to 2.5 million people and generates direct and indirect expenses of approximately $17–24 billion annually ( https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1187163/full#B1 - 1 ). It also has been reported in many countries around the world.

The common cold or the cold is a  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus - viral   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infectious_disease - infectious disease  of the  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_respiratory_tract - upper respiratory tract  that primarily affects the  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_epithelium - respiratory mucosa  of the  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_nose - nose ,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throat - throat ,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranasal_sinuses - sinuses , and  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larynx - larynx . ^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#cite_note-CMAJ2014-6 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#cite_note-CE11-8 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#cite_note-CMAJ2014-6 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#cite_note-CDC2015-3 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#cite_note-Eccles2005-4 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#cite_note-CDC2015-3 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#cite_note-Heik2003-7 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#cite_note-CDC2015-3 - Well over 200  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus_strain - virus strains  are implicated in causing the common cold, with  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinovirus - rhinoviruses ,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus - coronaviruses ,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenoviridae - adenoviruses  and  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterovirus - enteroviruses  being the most common. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#cite_note-14 -}

Analysis of fat oxidation capacity during cardiopulmonary exercise testing indicates long-lasting metabolic disturbance in patients with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome