Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Trial, Recruiting

Written by an AI model from ClinicalTrials.gov eligibility criteria and checked on a sample basis. Please confirm against the original criteria.

Who might be able to join this trial:

• People who are willing and able to complete all study procedures.
• People who are able to give their informed consent to participate.
• For ME/CFS patients specifically: a diagnosis that meets the criteria of either the International Consensus Criteria (ICC) or the Canadian Consensus Criteria (CCC) for ME/CFS (confirm with trial site).
• For ME/CFS patients specifically: a personal history of developing long-lasting fatigue and post-exertional malaise (feeling worse after activity), as recorded using a specific questionnaire called the DSQ-2, where the fatigue either came on suddenly or gradually worsened over 6 months.

Who may not be able to join:

• People who have used immune-modifying medications in the past 3 months.
• People who have a serious medical condition that could explain ME/CFS-like symptoms, such as cancer, heart disease, uncontrolled diabetes, chronic infections (such as hepatitis B or C, tuberculosis, or HIV), inflammatory or autoimmune diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or polymyositis), severe lung disease, severe anaemia, kidney failure, Addison's or Cushing's disease, or serious neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease.
• People who have had a head injury in the last five years involving loss of consciousness or memory loss lasting more than a few seconds, or a head injury at any point in their life involving loss of consciousness or memory loss lasting more than 5 minutes, or documented post-concussion symptoms lasting more than six months.
• People with suspected, probable, or confirmed Lyme disease.
• People with a current or recent (within the last 5 years) substance use disorder.
• People who received a diagnosis of a mood disorder or other psychiatric condition before their ME/CFS diagnosis.
• People who are pregnant, actively trying to become pregnant, or have been breastfeeding in the past 12 months.
• People with a BMI over 35.
• People who have cognitive or communication difficulties that would make it hard to understand study instructions.
• People who have a planned medication change during the study testing period.
• People who are currently using medications that affect blood pressure, such as beta-blockers, fludrocortisone, or vasoconstrictors.
• People who are currently participating in another clinical study involving an intervention that could affect the results of this trial.
• People who experience claustrophobia.
• People who are currently taking (within the past week) prescription or non-prescription medications, herbal supplements, or other supplements that may affect brain activity, and who are either unwilling or medically unable to safely stop taking them for the duration of the study visits — the treating doctor and trial team would assess this together (confirm with trial site). Examples include certain antidepressants, sleep medications, anti-epileptic drugs, antipsychotics, stimulants, antihistamines, muscle relaxants, dopamine-related medications, and hypnotics.
• People who use high-dose vitamin B12 injections.
• People who are colour blind.

For healthy control participants, these additional criteria also apply:

• People who do more than 30 minutes per week of moderate or high-intensity physical activity.
• People who report significant fatigue based on a specific fatigue questionnaire (MFIS score above 30).

Important: Always verify eligibility with the trial site directly before applying.