Chelimsky, Gisela, Madan, Shruti, Alshekhlee, Amer et al. · Gastroenterology research and practice · 2009 · DOI
This study compared people with cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) to people with migraine headaches to see if they have the same associated conditions. Researchers looked at 21 CVS patients, 46 migraine patients, and 36 healthy controls, testing for 12 different conditions including orthostatic intolerance (feeling dizzy when standing), fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue. While CVS and migraine shared many of the same comorbidities, CVS patients had significantly more cases of complex regional pain syndrome, suggesting these conditions may not be as similar as previously thought.
For ME/CFS patients, this research is important because many experience overlapping autonomic symptoms and functional disorders similar to those studied in CVS and migraine populations. The identification that different conditions with similar presentations may have distinct autonomic profiles—particularly the association between CVS and CRPS—highlights the value of comprehensive dysautonomia screening and may inform more targeted treatment strategies for autonomic dysfunction in ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that CVS and migraine are completely distinct diseases or that they have entirely different causes. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causation or temporal relationships between conditions. Additionally, the small sample size and reliance on a single assessment instrument limit the generalizability of findings to broader CVS and migraine populations.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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