Plasma endothelin-1 levels in chronic fatigue syndrome — non-technical summary
Endothelin is a substance found in the blood which causes blood vessels to constrict and blood flow to reduce. Normally this activity is balanced by other substances which cause blood vessels to dilate, but in some diseases endothelin levels are high enough to cause disturbances in blood flow.
High endothelin levels have been found in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome and, since there is some overlap in the problems experienced by these individuals and by those with stress-induced conditions such as ME/CFS, we wondered whether ME/CFS patients also have high endothelin levels.
However, we found that endothelin levels were very similar in both ME/CFS patients and healthy controls. This suggests that ME/CFS and fibromyalgia syndrome are not part of the same spectrum of illness.
