Japan has been making research for fatigue and CFS a top priority, with economic implications estimated at $3.5 billion a year for chronic fatigue syndrome alone and $10.2 billion a year for general fatigue.
Japanese research teams (Hirohito Kiratsune, Yasuyoshi Watanabe and their colleagues) have created extensive studies into CFS. In June 2007, results from 15 of these studies were released in the Japanese Journal of Clinical Medicine Nippon Rinsho.
The Japanese studies have included researching the prevelance and diagnostic criteria in Japan; an overview of effective medical treatment and management; and research on discrete biochemical abnormalities apparent through specialized blood tests.
The individual studies address viral infections and herpesvirus reactivation, genetic background and marker genes, clinical features, neurotransmitter activity, serum properties and testing, sleep disturbance and evaluation of fatigue. Diagnosis and testing is the focus of several of the studiesparticularly results showing that blood tested using Vis-NIR (visible near-infrared) spectroscopy was able to differentiate CFS patients from healthy control subjects. Other diagnostic studies in the series of articles explored potential marker genes, reported on unique antinuclear antibodies and addressed differentiation between CFS and psychiatric disorders.
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