Werker, Charlotte L, Nijhof, Sanne L, van de Putte, Elise M · European journal of pediatrics · 2013 · DOI
This review explains how doctors diagnose ME/CFS in teenagers and describes what we know works to treat it. ME/CFS is a serious illness causing extreme fatigue that doesn't get better with rest, along with other symptoms like trouble thinking clearly, sore throat, and muscle pain. The good news is that a type of talking therapy called cognitive behavioural therapy helps about two-thirds of teenagers with ME/CFS feel better and stay better for years.
Early and accurate diagnosis of ME/CFS in adolescents is critical because the illness causes severe school absence and long-term academic and social harm if left unrecognized. This review provides clinicians with clear diagnostic guidance and highlights an evidence-based treatment option, helping reduce diagnostic delays and improving outcomes for this vulnerable population.
This review does not establish the biological mechanisms underlying ME/CFS or explain why cognitive behavioural therapy works. It also does not compare the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy to other potential treatments or address whether the condition differs meaningfully between adolescents and adults.
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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