Researchers
have been discovering more and more about CFS - what possibly causes it, why
certain people and not others get it, and how it takes root - but they don’t
have any definitive answers. Basically, a variety of causes are being
investigated, any one of which may someday be shown to be the illness’s raison
d’ĂȘtre. These possible causes of CFS include the following:
Your family history: If another family
member had CFS (or some of the symptoms of CFS), you may be more vulnerable to
getting it; however, the jury’s still out as to whether there’s a genetic link.
Some people with CFS in their family history live their whole lives without
getting CFS.
Stress, stress, and more stress: This possible cause
can mean day-to-day mental or emotional stress or stressors such as illness or
injury. You may have a genetic connection between your symptoms and the way your
hormones react to stress. Basically, this hormonal reaction comes down to
allostatic load (or AL for those in the know). AL measures the wear and tear
your body goes through when stress rears its anxious head. Some early studies
have reported that people with CFS may have a problem with the physical
mechanism that generates a proper stress response, rendering them unable to
react effectively to stressors (mental or physical).
Body chemistry: Humans have an amazing messenger
system — one that beats FedEx hands down. Your body produces chemicals in
response to messages sent to and from the brain — chemicals that don’t miss a
beat when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep or hailing a cab or deciding
whether to get that dress in the store window. But as good as your chemical messenger
service is, it can get out of whack — whether stress, illness, or emotion is
the cause. Think of this chemical imbalance as a blizzard that stops the mail
from coming in, one that may or may not bring CFS with it.
Viral infections: You have a powerful immune system in
your body, with antibodies and natural killer (NK) cells just salivating for
some foreign virus to dare enter your cells. But unfortunately, your immune
system isn’t always perfect. It can fail to attack with the full force of its
fury, not recognize the virus as an enemy, or may even overreact. This whacked-out
immune system has also been linked to CFS.
Sleep problems: Yes, it’s true: Whether your sleep
issues are due to stress, an overtaxed and overworked immune system with no
downtime to rest, or just the lack of quality sleep in general, problems with
sleep have been linked to CFS.
The HPA axis: Doctors call the hypothalamus in your
brain, along with your pituitary and adrenal glands, the
hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The hypothalamus sends messages to
the pituitary gland via hormonal (chemical) messengers. The pituitary gland, in
turn, triggers the production of hormones in your ovaries or testes, adrenals,
and thyroid glands. Some people with CFS appear to have abnormally low levels of
the hormone cortisol in the blood, which means that a malfunction in the HPA
axis may be a possible cause.
Inflammation: Think of an inflammation as the way your
body fends off viruses and bacteria — the first line of defense in the immune
system. However, chronic inflammation can break down the immune system, which
may result in CFS.
Autonomic nervous system dysregulation: Your autonomic
nervous system is responsible for all your critical body functions, from
breathing and regulating your heartbeat to keeping your temperature on an even keel.
Some people who develop CFS have an autonomic nervous system problem called
orthostatic instability (OI), which means that staying in an upright position
for more than a few minutes results in a feeling of dizziness; this feeling can
occur when sitting or standing up. Because OI can be
caused by dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system, your autonomic nervous
system could somehow be involved in your CFS. However, some physicians believe
that OI stands alone, a condition in and of itself; still others consider OI a
symptom of CFS, not a cause.
Physical trauma: Ouch! The aches and pains of a fall
or an accident can hurt your bones, muscles, and even your brain. Not only can
physical pain lead to all sorts of not-so-fun things — such as insomnia,
depression, brain dysfunction, or even changes on a very basic cellular level
in your body — but it has also been explored as a cause, trigger, or
perpetuating factor in some cases of CFS.
Ongoing infection: Sometimes the flu you caught at the
office doesn’t go away in the requisite two weeks. Sometimes the infection
lingers...and lingers. And instead of feeling better, you feel steadily worse.
Infection has long been suspected as a cause or trigger of CFS, but researchers
haven’t identified a specific virus or bacteria as of yet. It could be that by
the time a person goes to the doctor after many weeks or months of symptoms,
the bug is gone, leaving various forms of damage in its wake.
Environmental
toxins and allergies: Pollen, dander, mercury, and lead — these damaging
substances may be involved in the onset of CFS in the same way infections are.