Proof at last that 'yuppie flu' is a real illness

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Proof at last that 'yuppie flu' is a real illness

The debilitating condition once derided as 'yuppie flu' is a genuine illness, researchers say.

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Controversy has raged for nearly 30 years as to whether the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome are real or all in the mind.

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Now a study shows the condition, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME, does trigger a distinctive immune response in the body.

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The discovery paves the way for treatments that, given early enough, could prevent years of ill health.

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It should also help ease the stigma that has led to sufferers being dismissed as malingerers who imagine their symptoms.

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ME affects some 250,000 Britons and is more common in women than men. It was called 'yuppie flu' in the 1980s because sufferers tend to be aged between 20 and 40 and the illness was most frequently seen among professional people.

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Symptoms include extreme physical and mental fatigue and painful limbs. The condition can also affect memory, concentration and digestion, with some sufferers left so weak that they lose their job or become bed or wheelchair-bound. But with the cause unclear, scepticism has remained as to whether it is a physical illness or merely psychological.

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The researchers, from Columbia University in New York, analysed hundreds of blood samples taken from ME patients and healthy people. The blood from those with ME showed a distinct 'chemical signature'.