Why glandular fever doesn't exist
[if: I thought the take on ME/CFS was unique - it's not in the news so much as it's become an accepted biophysical disease. Is this true for you in Australia?]
* By Karen Fittall
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* April 18, 2010 12:12AM
WHATEVER happened to ...Chronic fatigue, Glandular Fever AND Seasonal Affective Disorder? Karen Fittall investigates the diseases that seem to have disappeared.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
When chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) became a "named" illness in the 1980s, everyone knew someone who had it.
Skip to 2010, and it hardly rates a mention. But Professor Andrew Lloyd, from the University of New South Wales department of pathology, says the incidence of CFS remains unchanged. Its believed as many as 0.7 per cent of the general population suffers from it, which in real terms means more than 125,000 Australian adults have CFS.
So why is it flying under the radar? Probably because its less controversial today. "Ten years ago, there was a question mark about the validity of the condition, or claims that it may simply be a psychiatric disorder, rather than a physical illness. Now that that controversy has been put to bed, weve seen a reduction in how much it makes the news," says Professor Lloyd.
The biggest misconception is that the type of fatigue it results in is similar to the everyday variety most of us experience. Anyone who has ever felt tired believes they can identify with CFS and may think, I often feel exhausted and manage to get on with it. But the fatigue experienced by a person with CFS is entirely different, says Professor Lloyd. For example, it can take a CFS sufferer days to recover from a walk around the block.
Thanks to research, we now know more about what the syndrome isnt caused by, "but we still havent developed a diagnostic test for CFS, resolved the biological basis of the illness, or developed a curative treatment, says Professor Lloyd. He adds that there is now a consensus that CFS is probably a neurochemical brain disorder, albeit a reversible one. :Although we still dont know the exact nature of it."
Glandular fever
Back in the 70s, statistics show that about one per cent of the teenage population got glandular fever. But Dr Rajiv Khanna, who heads the Australian Centre for Vaccine Development at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), suspects the disease is on the rise.
"Id say the number of glandular fever cases has increased slightly over the years, particularly in developed countries where an increasing awareness of hygiene has meant more and more children arent coming into contact with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which causes the disease, until adolescence or their teenage years."
About 95 per cent of adults are infected with EBV, but while most children in developing countries come into contact with it before the age of three, when it creates little effect, in developed countries, its thought that as many as 40 per cent of teenagers are still to contract it. At that age, the immune response is usually stronger, so the typical symptoms of glandular fever can be more severe.
So why is it flying under the radar? Because very few adults develop glandular fever, the main explanation is that as you grow older, youre less likely to know people struck down by it, perhaps until your kids reach their teens. The biggest misconception is that you can get glandular fever more than once. You cant. "You can get a reactivation, but very rarely would actual symptoms accompany this," Dr Khanna says.
Thanks to research, we now know its not the actual virus that causes the symptoms of glandular fever, its how the immune system responds that makes people sick. Based on this knowledge, QIMR experts have been working on a vaccine that will eventually train the immune system to deal with the virus without causing the debilitating symptoms.
Seasonal affective disorder
When seasonal affective disorder (SAD) hit the headlines in the 1980s, it felt like we finally had a medical explanation for the "winter blues". Thirty years on its estimated that, in some parts of the world, SAD affects 10 per cent of the population to varying degrees.
So why is it flying under the radar? Its not flying under the radar so much as it just isnt news anymore.
People may think that if youve ever felt down during winter, theres a good chance youve got SAD. In fact, living in Australia, theres a better chance that you dont, with one study showing that as little as 0.5 per cent of our population is affected.
"Not only is it quite common for healthy people without depression to feel a bit low during winter when a lot of the activities associated with summer disappear, says Dr Michael Baigent, Beyondblues clinical adviser, "but research shows that even on the dullest days in this country, there is enough light to satisfy the area of our brains that has been linked to SAD. Having said that, theres no doubt that some peoples depression may be triggered by the changes that a different season brings about, but this isnt related to actual light levels, so technically, it isnt SAD."
Thanks to research, Dr Baigent says we now know "a lot more about the dose of sunlight thats required to treat the condition. And we also know how to tackle it with other approaches and interventions as well."
<snip>
Restless legs syndrome
Australias leading economic consulting firm, Access Economics, calls restless legs syndrome (RLS) the "most common medical condition most people have never heard of".
"RLS is certainly very common, says Dominic Thyagarajan, professor of neuroscience at Monash University. It has been estimated to affect five to 15 per cent of the population."
So why is it flying under the radar? Most likely because RLS is under diagnosed. "Patients dont always recognise it as a disorder so dont visit their doctor, or a doctor may not recognise the condition from the description the patient gives of their symptoms," Professor Thyagarajan says.
The biggest misconception about this condition is that it doesnt cause too much disruption to someones life, but studies have shown that people with moderate to severe RLS get less sleep than patients with almost any other type of persistent sleep disorder. This means 53 per cent of RLS sufferers are likely to feel depressed.
Thanks to research, we now know a little more about what causes RLS, and genetics may have an important role to play, with a positive family history for RLS present in about 50 per cent of people with the condition.
[if: I thought the take on ME/CFS was unique - it's not in the news so much as it's become an accepted biophysical disease. Is this true for you in Australia?]
* By Karen Fittall
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* April 18, 2010 12:12AM
WHATEVER happened to ...Chronic fatigue, Glandular Fever AND Seasonal Affective Disorder? Karen Fittall investigates the diseases that seem to have disappeared.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
When chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) became a "named" illness in the 1980s, everyone knew someone who had it.
Skip to 2010, and it hardly rates a mention. But Professor Andrew Lloyd, from the University of New South Wales department of pathology, says the incidence of CFS remains unchanged. Its believed as many as 0.7 per cent of the general population suffers from it, which in real terms means more than 125,000 Australian adults have CFS.
So why is it flying under the radar? Probably because its less controversial today. "Ten years ago, there was a question mark about the validity of the condition, or claims that it may simply be a psychiatric disorder, rather than a physical illness. Now that that controversy has been put to bed, weve seen a reduction in how much it makes the news," says Professor Lloyd.
The biggest misconception is that the type of fatigue it results in is similar to the everyday variety most of us experience. Anyone who has ever felt tired believes they can identify with CFS and may think, I often feel exhausted and manage to get on with it. But the fatigue experienced by a person with CFS is entirely different, says Professor Lloyd. For example, it can take a CFS sufferer days to recover from a walk around the block.
Thanks to research, we now know more about what the syndrome isnt caused by, "but we still havent developed a diagnostic test for CFS, resolved the biological basis of the illness, or developed a curative treatment, says Professor Lloyd. He adds that there is now a consensus that CFS is probably a neurochemical brain disorder, albeit a reversible one. :Although we still dont know the exact nature of it."
Glandular fever
Back in the 70s, statistics show that about one per cent of the teenage population got glandular fever. But Dr Rajiv Khanna, who heads the Australian Centre for Vaccine Development at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), suspects the disease is on the rise.
"Id say the number of glandular fever cases has increased slightly over the years, particularly in developed countries where an increasing awareness of hygiene has meant more and more children arent coming into contact with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which causes the disease, until adolescence or their teenage years."
About 95 per cent of adults are infected with EBV, but while most children in developing countries come into contact with it before the age of three, when it creates little effect, in developed countries, its thought that as many as 40 per cent of teenagers are still to contract it. At that age, the immune response is usually stronger, so the typical symptoms of glandular fever can be more severe.
So why is it flying under the radar? Because very few adults develop glandular fever, the main explanation is that as you grow older, youre less likely to know people struck down by it, perhaps until your kids reach their teens. The biggest misconception is that you can get glandular fever more than once. You cant. "You can get a reactivation, but very rarely would actual symptoms accompany this," Dr Khanna says.
Thanks to research, we now know its not the actual virus that causes the symptoms of glandular fever, its how the immune system responds that makes people sick. Based on this knowledge, QIMR experts have been working on a vaccine that will eventually train the immune system to deal with the virus without causing the debilitating symptoms.
Seasonal affective disorder
When seasonal affective disorder (SAD) hit the headlines in the 1980s, it felt like we finally had a medical explanation for the "winter blues". Thirty years on its estimated that, in some parts of the world, SAD affects 10 per cent of the population to varying degrees.
So why is it flying under the radar? Its not flying under the radar so much as it just isnt news anymore.
People may think that if youve ever felt down during winter, theres a good chance youve got SAD. In fact, living in Australia, theres a better chance that you dont, with one study showing that as little as 0.5 per cent of our population is affected.
"Not only is it quite common for healthy people without depression to feel a bit low during winter when a lot of the activities associated with summer disappear, says Dr Michael Baigent, Beyondblues clinical adviser, "but research shows that even on the dullest days in this country, there is enough light to satisfy the area of our brains that has been linked to SAD. Having said that, theres no doubt that some peoples depression may be triggered by the changes that a different season brings about, but this isnt related to actual light levels, so technically, it isnt SAD."
Thanks to research, Dr Baigent says we now know "a lot more about the dose of sunlight thats required to treat the condition. And we also know how to tackle it with other approaches and interventions as well."
<snip>
Restless legs syndrome
Australias leading economic consulting firm, Access Economics, calls restless legs syndrome (RLS) the "most common medical condition most people have never heard of".
"RLS is certainly very common, says Dominic Thyagarajan, professor of neuroscience at Monash University. It has been estimated to affect five to 15 per cent of the population."
So why is it flying under the radar? Most likely because RLS is under diagnosed. "Patients dont always recognise it as a disorder so dont visit their doctor, or a doctor may not recognise the condition from the description the patient gives of their symptoms," Professor Thyagarajan says.
The biggest misconception about this condition is that it doesnt cause too much disruption to someones life, but studies have shown that people with moderate to severe RLS get less sleep than patients with almost any other type of persistent sleep disorder. This means 53 per cent of RLS sufferers are likely to feel depressed.
Thanks to research, we now know a little more about what causes RLS, and genetics may have an important role to play, with a positive family history for RLS present in about 50 per cent of people with the condition.