National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine 
National Institutes of Health
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Also called: CFS
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder that causes extreme fatigue. This fatigue is not the kind of tired feeling that goes away after you rest. Instead, it lasts a long time and limits your ability to do ordinary daily activities.
Symptoms of CFS include fatigue for 6 months or more and experiencing other problems such as muscle pain, memory problems, headaches, pain in multiple joints, sleep problems, sore throat and tender lymph nodes. Since other illnesses can cause similar symptoms, CFS is hard to diagnose.
No one knows what causes CFS. It is most common in women in their 40s and 50s, but anyone can have it. It can last for years. There is no cure for CFS, so the goal of treatment is to improve symptoms. Medicines may treat pain, sleep disorders and other problems.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Start Here
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): General Information(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Also available in Spanish
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
,
Learn More
, and
Multimedia & Cool Tools
.
For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
- No links available
The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
,
Reference Shelf
, and
For You
.
For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
For group For You
-
Overviews
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome(Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
-
Diagnosis/Symptoms
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Symptoms(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-
Alternative Therapy
- Chronic Fatigue: Can a Natural Remedy Boost My Energy?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
-
Coping
- Family and Friends: For Those Who Care(CFIDS Association of America)
- Return to top
-
Disease Management
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Managing Activities and Exercise(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Treating the Most Disruptive Symptoms First(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: When Exercise Makes You Feel Worse(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School)
- Return to top
-
Related Issues
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Possible Causes(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Names and Claims(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School)
- Return to top
-
Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic(National Institutes of Health)
- Return to top
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic
-
Research
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Childhood Adversity(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Return to top
-
Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
-
Organizations
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
Statistics
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Who's at Risk?(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Return to top
-
Children
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome(Nemours Foundation)
- Return to top
-
Teenagers
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
Patient Handouts
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
-
You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
