Immunologic and psychologic therapy for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Am J Med. 1993 Feb;94(2):197-203. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(93)90183-p.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the potential benefit of immunologic therapy with dialyzable leukocyte extract and psychologic treatment in the form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Patients and methods: Immunologic and psychologic treatments were administered to 90 adult patients who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for CFS in a double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled study. A four-cell trial design allowed the assessment of benefit from immunologic and psychologic treatment individually or in combination. Outcome was evaluated by measurement of global well-being (visual analogue scales), physical capacity (standardized diaries of daily activities), functional status (Karnofsky performance scale), and psychologic morbidity (Profile of Mood States questionnaire), and cell-mediated immunity was evaluated by peripheral blood T-cell subset analysis and delayed-type hypersensitivity skin testing.

Results: Neither dialyzable leukocyte extract nor CBT (alone or in combination) provided greater benefit than the nonspecific treatment regimens.

Conclusions: In this study, patients with CFS did not demonstrate a specific response to immunologic and/or psychologic therapy. The improvement recorded in the group as a whole may reflect both nonspecific treatment effects and a propensity to remission in the natural history of this disorder.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Attitude to Health
  • Cell Extracts / administration & dosage
  • Cell Extracts / therapeutic use*
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy*
  • Dialysis
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Exercise Therapy
  • Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / psychology
  • Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / therapy*
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy
  • Injections, Intramuscular
  • Leukocytes / chemistry*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Placebos
  • Quality of Life
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Cell Extracts
  • Placebos