Revolutionizing the Field of CFS/ME Research

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http://www.pacific.edu/About-Pacific/Newsroom/PFL-Feature.html

University of the Pacific

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Hope for the Weary

Internationally recognized research conducted by

faculty and students in the Pacific Fatigue

Laboratory is giving hope to those with debilitating

illnesses.

DuBois

Feb 17, 2012

The Pacific Fatigue Lab (PFL) is a research, clinical and

teaching laboratory that studies fatigue-related illnesses

such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic

Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). Founded in 2007, PFL is

operated through the Department of Sport Sciences.

CFS/ME is an incurable, debilitating illness that is difficult to

diagnose. At PFL, individuals with CFS/ME - often

dismissed as malingering or depressed by family members,

insurance companies and even physicians - are receiving

objective, clinical validation that they indeed have a

disabling illness, important for both psychological and

practical reasons.

Revolutionizing the Field of CFS/ME Research

PFL provides a comprehensive disability evaluation that

measures heart, lung and sympathetic nervous system

function, metabolic function and cognitive processing time.

Testing includes an 8-12 minute exercise stress test.

However, a difference in Pacific's testing protocol is that

patients are also re-tested the next day. This factor has

revolutionized CFS/ME research.

*Those with CFS/ME are the only patients who score

significantly worse the second day,* says Staci s

'91, '97, PFL founding executive director. Research has

proved that, regardless of health level, a person will score

about the same on both days when taking a stress test two

days in a row. *CFS/ME patients do not recover normally

from physical exertion.*

From test results PFL researchers provide an extensive

evaluation to help the patient manage their illness and to

educate physicians and attorneys. For some, it is a

financial lifesaver; helping them obtain disability benefits

they were previously denied. Each patient also receives an

heart-rate monitor to help them manage exertion levels and

prevent a flare-up.

PFL is the only place that offers this comprehensive service,

and only two centers have implemented its exercise testing,

one at Ithaca College in New York and one at a university in

the Netherlands. Consequently, the lab has drawn patients

from as far as Chile and Japan. This includes people with

illnesses other than CFS/ME, such as HIV, multiple

sclerosis and cancer, who increasingly must prove they are

unable to work.

*We do have a reputation that goes beyond the United

States, which is quite unique for a small institution like

this,* says Snell, sport sciences professor and

PFL scientific director. s and Snell have both served

on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee, which

Snell has chaired for the past three years.

Students Gaining Real-World Experience

Both undergraduate and graduate students are involved

through every aspect of the research and testing process.

Students work with patients, review medical history,

measure height, weight and blood pressure, conduct the lab

testing, and compile the results into a report.

Many of the students have presented their research at major

conferences. Larson recently presented his research at the

International Association of CFS/ME (IACFS/ME)

conference (http://www.iacfsme.org/). Graduate Harnoor

Singh '07 has presented research at the American College

of Sports Medicine (http://www.acsm.org/) conference and

was named Student Researcher of the Year at the

IACFS/ME annual meeting.

Singh and Larson agree their experiences in the Pacific

Fatigue Lab are invaluable preparation for their future in

health-related careers. Singh, now in medical school, was

particularly affected by clients' frustration at being

repeatedly dismissed by doctors. He says it has taught him

the importance of listening and being sensitive to patients.