2022-6-27 

"Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is defined as the exclusion of all chronic causes of fatigue (e.g., cancer, autoimmune diseases, or chronic infections, etc.) and the occurrence of persistent or intermittent fatigue for more than six months that does not improve with rest and may interfere with the patient's work, life, or education to the point of forced cessation.

The CDC has established criteria for the diagnosis of "chronic fatigue syndrome" based on the clinical symptoms of the patient. Fatigue lasting six months or more, excluding other diseases, and having at least 4 of the following symptoms.

(1) Short-term memory loss or difficulty concentrating

(2) Sore throat

(3) Tenderness and pain in the lymph nodes of the neck or armpits

4) Muscle soreness and pain

5) Joint pain without redness or swelling

6）New headache or aggravation of existing headache

7）Energy cannot be restored after sleep

8）Fatigue of the whole body for more than 24 hours after prolonged mental or physical activity

The medical community has yet to find the single factor that most causes "chronic fatigue syndrome", and there are no universally accepted diagnostic criteria, including blood tests, computerized brain tomography scans, etc., which are unable to find strong and direct relevant evidence. Judgment can only be made by the experience of the physician and the history described by the patient. Because of the difficulty in diagnosis, more than 90% of patients with "chronic fatigue syndrome" are misdiagnosed as neurasthenia, hormonal imbalance, or depression, and as a result the treatment is delayed.

Chronic fatigue syndrome can occur in anyone, but is more prevalent in people aged 40-60 years and is much more common in adult women than in men. It is important to note that many patients with "chronic fatigue syndrome" have not yet been diagnosed.

Currently, there is no standardized treatment plan for "chronic fatigue syndrome". Medications are mainly used to eliminate clinical symptoms in order to improve quality of life and restore social functions; in addition, there are various relaxation therapies, exercise therapies, as well as balanced diets, vitamin, mineral and essential amino acid supplements, etc., but the effectiveness of the treatment varies.

Stem cells are the origin cells of the human body and have "homing" properties that detect the microenvironment of the body and go to damaged tissues for repair. In particular, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability to differentiate, repair tissues, and regulate immune homeostasis, and have good regulation effects on many diseases.

Stem cells have two main functions:

1. Repairing damaged tissues

Stem cells have a powerful repair function for human tissues and can promote cell regeneration and enhance cell activity in damaged areas.

2. Regulating tissue microenvironment

Stem cells secrete various cellular hormones through paracrine/endocrine mechanism to play the role of immune regulation and nutritional supplementation to improve immunity.

Internationally, experiments have shown that mesenchymal stem cells have a very positive effect on improving symptoms related to "chronic fatigue syndrome". A study published in the American Journal of Nuclear Medicine investigated the inflammatory conditions in the brain of 9 patients (mean age 38.4 years) and 10 healthy individuals (mean age 39.1 years) with "chronic fatigue syndrome".

The results showed that compared with healthy people, the thalamus, midbrain, bridge, hippocampus, and amygdala of the brain of patients with "chronic fatigue syndrome" had extensive inflammation, and the more severe the inflammation, the more severe the symptoms of "chronic fatigue syndrome". This indicates that "chronic fatigue syndrome" is closely related to brain inflammation.

The inflammatory environment will lead to the decline of brain function, and the decline of brain function will lead to memory loss. After transplantation, the homing property of stem cells can reach the inflammation site where the immune cells gather, and repair the tissue microenvironment to improve the inflammation of tissues and organs.

Clinically, a number of studies have been conducted to verify the efficacy and safety of stem cell transfusion in improving "chronic fatigue syndrome" through extensive clinical observations, using "fatigue and poor sleep quality" as typical quantifiable symptoms.

It was found that the stem cell injection could improve the body's resistance to fatigue, and also had a significant effect on improving sleep quality without adverse effects.