multiple chemical sensitivities, Gulf War syndrome, neurally mediated hypot=
ension,
Lyme disease, candida, etc.)?

There are several conditions whose symptoms and patterns are so similar tha=
t many
believe there must be a common mechanism involved. Some research has sugges=
ted
that dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may be im=
plicated in
several or all of these conditions. This axis controls stress response and =
many other
bodily functions. If HPA dysfunction is truly involved in many of these con=
ditions, it
would be little surprise since the neuroendocrine mechanisms of the HPA axi=
s are both
complex and delicate, and thus minor variations in such a dysfunction might=
 well
produce the variants we are seeing in these similar illnesses.

The similarities and differences between CFS and other conditions are discu=
ssed in the
article by Calabrese et al. -- see Appendix 2.

There are many network resources available that provide discussion and info=
rmation
about these related conditions. See the CFS Network Help file, described un=
der
question 5.04.