ABSTRACT
Prolactin and cortisol responses to dl-fenfluramine challenge were examined in 11 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and in 11 healthy controls who were age and gender matched. After obtaining two baseline samples, each subject was given 60 mg of dl-fenfluramine orally and further blood samples were drawn hourly during the following five hours in order to measure prolactin and cortisol levels. There was no difference in either baseline or fenfluramine-induced hormonal responses between patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and controls. There was also no correlation between depression scores on HAM-D and hormonal responses in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. The findings of this study do not support a role for 5-HT in chronic fatigue syndrome.
Subject(s)
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/physiopathology , Neurosecretory Systems/physiopathology , Serotonin/physiology , Administration, Oral , Adult , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/diagnosis , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/psychology , Female , Fenfluramine , Humans , Hydrocortisone/blood , Male , Neurosecretory Systems/drug effects , Personality Inventory , Prolactin/blood , Reference ValuesABSTRACT
This report describes a patient who suffered concurrently from panic disorder with agoraphobia and Arnold-Chiari malformation. Surgical correction of the neuroanatomical anomaly altered the patient's symptom pattern, enabling a more clear delineation of her anxiety disorder.
