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Abstract

This investigation tested the hypotheses that women diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) would exhibit significantly greater systemic indices of exercise-induced leukocyte mobilization and inflammation (neutrophilia, lactoferrin release, complement activation) than controls matched for age, weight, and habitual activity and that responses in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle would be greater than in the follicular phase. Subjects stepped up and down on a platform adjusted to the height of the patella for 15 min, paced by metronome. Blood samples were collected under basal conditions (the day before exercise) and following exercise for determination of circulating neutrophils and plasma concentrations of lactoferrin, C3a des arg, and creatine kinase. Complete, 24-hr urine collections were made for determination of cortisol excretion. For all subjects, circulating neutrophil counts increased 33% (P < 0.0001) and lactoferrin increased 27% (P = 0.0006) after exercise, whereas plasma C3a des arg and creatine kinase did not increase. No indication of an exaggerated or excessive response was observed in the CFS patients compared to the controls. In healthy women, circulating neutrophil numbers exhibited previously described relationships with physiological variables: basal neutrophil counts correlated with plasma progesterone concentrations (R = 0.726, P = 0.003) and the exercise-induced neutrophilia correlated with both urinary cortisol (R = 0.660, P = 0.007) and plasma creatine kinase (R = 0.523, P = 0.038) concentrations. These relationships were not observed in the CFS patients (R = 0.240, P = 0.370; R = 0.042, P = 0.892; and R = 0.293, P = 0.270; respectively). These results suggest that normal endocrine influences on the circulating neutrophil pool may be disrupted in patients with CFS.

Tracking post-infectious fatigue in clinic using routine Lab tests

“…CFS is a complex constellation of symptoms [ 25 ]. Cannon et al [ 45 ] found sex hormone driven changes in neutrophil count characteristic of CFS. The latter reported that while neutrophil count normally increases from the follicular to luteal phase in healthy women, it persists at luteal levels in CFS.…”

Drug Targets in Stress-Related Disorders

“…Similar correlations were not detected in women with CFS. On the other hand, exercise could induce a significant increase of the C4a of the complement cascade in CFS patients when compared to matched controls [89]. However, the participation of complement products in the pathogenesis of CFS deserves further investigation.…”

Increased Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate in Dogs: Frequency in Routine Clinical Practice and Association with Hematological Changes

“…The other hematologic variable that was positively correlated with ESR in the entire case series was the neutrophil count, which, as expected, was elevated in dogs with acute symptomatology. Although this finding is likely secondary to the response toward inflammatory stimuli, a stress leukocytosis cannot be ruled out in these subjects through the release of cells from the marginal pool [42]. Neutrophil counts were particularly high, although not significantly, in samples from dogs with acute/subacute inflammation as a direct consequence of the activation of the acute phase reaction induced by the inflammatory stimuli [43].…”