This is a new area of study. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have d=
iscovered
what appears to be a link between CFS and a well established cardiac condit=
ion called
neurally mediated hypotension (NHM). The fact that this known cardiac condi=
tion has
diagnostic tests and treatments that are already accepted by medical scienc=
e has
important implications for CFS research and medical care. The journal citat=
ions for
these studies are listed at the end of question 1.03 above. To obtain a spe=
cial edition of
the CFS-NEWS electronic newsletter (edition #45) which describes this resea=
rch,
send the command GET CFS-NEWS 045 as an e-mail message to the address
LISTSERV@HEALTH.STATE.NY.US .

Neurally mediated hypotension, which is also known a vasodepressor syncope,
involves mis-regulated blood flow and blood pressure which can lead to recu=
rrent
fainting. The Hopkins study seems to indicate that many more people who do =
not have
recurrent fainting may nonetheless have this condition, *and* many in this =
wider group
have chronic fatigue generally and CFS in particular. The patients in the H=
opkins study
who have gotten benefit from the treatment have been enthusiastic about the=
 results,
although the Hopkins researchers themselves are much more conservative in t=
heir
claims at this early point in their research. Although the results from thi=
s treatment are
very encouraging, not all patients in the study respond positively to the t=
herapy.