Health and Disability

They spotted that immune system of patients contains high level of cytokine other than ordinary people. Cytokines is a large group of protein that is essential for inflammatory responses. Undoubtedly, it is strong evidence that the syndrome is serious biological illness instead of physical one.

It turns out that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is really a medical condition and not just a matter of the mind. Dr. Mady Hornig, the director of translational research at the Center for Infection and Immunity and associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia’s Mailman School, led a study to investigate.

In this study, Horning describes that people who suffer from this condition actually do exhibit certain physiological markers in common, which lends more to a medical condition—like an infection—than to a psychological delusion—like the placebo effect.

Horning says, “Their immune system is no longer resilient and able to bounce back after this cytokine surge [in response to infection]. We need the system to be regulated, so it shuts off after the disease is gone, and that isn’t happening here.”