Below are shown common medical abbreviations that CFS people often come acr=
oss.
Following these are a list of abbreviations often found in computer network
discussions.

Medical abbreviations

BEAM - A kind of brain scan

CBC - complete blood count

CD4, CD8 etc. -- immune cells

CDC -- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA agency), responsible=
 for
estimating prevalence rates and making epidemiological studies

CEBV -- chronic Epstein-Barr syndrome. CFS was once thought to be this.

CBT - cognitive behavior therapy

CFS -- chronic fatigue syndrome

CFIDS -- chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, a name for CFS of=
ten
used in the USA.

CNS -- central nervous system

COQ10 -- co-enzyme Q10, a naturally occuring substance which some patients =
find
helpful; available without prescription

DD -- (slang) the "damned disease", i.e. CFS

DHEA -- dehydroepiandrosterone, a steroid hormone that some patients find h=
elpful
although this medication has risks

DHHS -- Dept. of Health and Human Services (USA agency)

EBV -- Epstein-Barr Virus. See question 2.19 above.

EI -- See MCS

EPD -- enzyme potentiated desensitization; a treatment

FDA -- Food and Drug Adminstration; a USA agency which regulates drug appro=
vals,
nutritional supplements, and food quality and labeling

FMS -- fibromyalgia syndrome; quite similar to CFS, many believe it is the =
same
illness, although CFS researcher Dr. Paul Cheney says that FMS patients res=
pond well
to programs of graduated exercise, while CFS will suffer a relapse if they =
follow the
same regimen. There's a separate network discussion group for this,
FIBROM-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU or newsgroup alt.med.fibromyalgia.

GWS -- (a.k.a. PGS) =3D Gulf War Syndrome -- condition noted by USA and oth=
er
militaty veterans who fought in the 1991 Persian Gulf war. This hasn't been=
 studied
enough to clarify that it's one syndrome. Many of the patients, though, exh=
ibit
symtpoms indistinguishable from MCS, and MCS treatments have been very
successful with these patients (as reported at NIH's workshop on this topic=
, April '94).

HHV6 -- human herpes virus 6; might be involved in several conditions, incl=
uding CFS.

HMO -- health maintenance organization (USA); a pre-paid plan which provide=
s
comprehensive medical services

HPA -- hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal; this axis controls stress response a=
nd many
other bodily functions; damage to this has been implicated as a possible ca=
use of CFS.

IVIG -- intravenous gamma globulin; a treatment that some find helpful

MAOI -- monoamine oxidase inhibitors; a class of drugs that some find helpf=
ul; several
risks

MCS -- multiple chemical sensitivities, also known as EI ( =3D environmenta=
l illness).
Very similar to CFS except that in MCS, chemical & fume exposures are a cle=
ar
trigger that worsen symptoms. Often discussed on the "immune" discussion gr=
oup (to
subscribe, contact immune-request@weber.ucsd.edu

ME -- myalgic encephalomyelitis; the name for CFS used most commonly outsid=
e of
the USA.

MRI -- magnetic resonance imaging; a kind of brain scan

NIH -- National Institutes of Health (USA agency); largest medical research=
 institution
in the world

NK -- natural killer cell, a type of immune cell

NMH -- neurally mediated hypotension, a blood pressure ailment linked to CF=
S by
research in 1995

NSAID -- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; examples: naproxen, ibuprof=
en; used
for pain

PCR -- polymerase chain reaction; a DNA technique used for identifying viru=
ses and
other life forms

PET -- a kind of brain scan

PHS -- Public Health Service (USA agency); under the DHHS, the PHS includes
NIH, CDC, and SSA

PNI -- psychoneuroimmunology; new field that studies relations between emot=
ions and
the immune system

PWC -- person with CFS

PGS -- Persian Gulf Syndrome; see GWS.

PVFS -- post-viral fatigue syndrome; term used in Britain, associated with =
CFS/ME

SoPWC -- spouse of PWC; significant other of a PWC

SPECT -- a kind of brain scan

SSA -- Social Security Adminstration (USA agency), responsible for retireme=
nt and
disability benefits

SSDI -- disability benefit program from the SSA (USA)

SSRI -- selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors; examples: Zoloft, Paxil, =
Prozac; often
used to address fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and depression

T4, T8 etc. -- kinds of immune cells

TCA -- tricyclic anti-depressants; examples: doxepin and amitriptyline; oft=
en used for
sleep disorder, and muscle and joint pain;

TTT -- tilt table test; used to diagnose neurally mediated hypotension (NMH=
), a
condition that has been linked to CFS

Computer and other common abbreviations

bbiaf -- be back in a few (an IRC term)

brb -- be right back (an IRC term)

btw -- by the way

FAQ - frequently asked question; or, a document that answers frequently ask=
ed
questions

FTP -- file transfer protocol; a nifty Internet utility for storing/ retrie=
ving files

FWIW -- for whatever it's worth

HTTP -- hypertext transfer protocol; the Internet utility which enables the=
 World Wide
Web to link multiple resources together

IAIYH -- "It's all in your head"

IMHO -- in my humble opinion

IRC -- Internet Relay Chat. Live conferences take place on this service. Fo=
r info, send
GET CFS IRC as e-mail to LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU.

LOL -- lots of laughter

OIC -- Oh, I see!

ROTFL -- roll-on-the-floor laughing

TTYL -- talk to you later

URL -- universal resource locator; an Internet term that identifies specifi=
cl locations for
ftp, http, etc. resources

w.r.t. -- with respect to

:-) -- a "smilie", meaning "meant in jest"; (look at it sideways to see the=
 smilie face)

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