Open Access Research article

The increase of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in the plasma of chronic fatigue syndrome patients

Nobue Shishioh-Ikejima1, Tokiko Ogawa1, Kouzi Yamaguti2, Yasuyoshi Watanabe2,3, Hirohiko Kuratsune2,4,5 and Hiroshi Kiyama1*

Author Affiliations

1 Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Osaka City University, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan

2 Department of Physiology, Osaka City University, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan

3 Center for Molecular Imaging Science, RIKEN, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan

4 Faculty of Health Science for Welfare, Kansai University of Welfare Sciences, Kashihara, Osaka, 582-0026, Japan

5 Department of Comparative Pathophysiology, Graduate School of Agricultural & Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

For all author emails, please log on.

BMC Neurology 2010, 10:73 doi:10.1186/1471-2377-10-73

Published: 23 August 2010

Abstract

Background

Despite extensive research, no reliable biological marker for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has yet been identified. However, hyperactivation of melanotrophs in the pituitary gland and increased levels of plasma alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) have recently been detected in an animal model of chronic stress. Because CFS is considered to be caused partly by chronic stress events, increased α-MSH plasma levels may also occur in CFS patients. We therefore examined α-MSH levels in CFS patients.

Methods

Fifty-five CFS patients, who were previously diagnosed within 10 years of with the disease, were enrolled in this study. Thirty healthy volunteers were studied as controls. Fasting bloods samples were collected in the morning and evaluated for their plasma levels of α-MSH, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), serum cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S). Mean levels of α-MSH were compared between the CFS and control groups using Welch's t test.

Results

The mean plasma α-MSH concentration in the CFS group (17.9 ± 1.0 pg/mL) was significantly higher than that in healthy controls (14.5 ± 1.0 pg/mL, p = 0.02). However, there was a wide range of values in the CFS group. The factors correlated with the plasma α-MSH values were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation. A negative correlation was found between the duration of the CFS and the plasma α-MSH values (p = 0.04, rs = -0.28), but no correlations with ACTH, cortisol or DHEA-S levels were identified (p = 0.55, 0.26, 0.33, respectively). The CFS patients were divided into two groups: patients diagnosed for ≤ 5 years' duration, and those diagnosed for 5-10 years' duration. They were compared with the healthy controls using one-way ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison tests. The mean α-MSH concentration in the ≤ 5 years group was 20.8 ± 1.2 pg/mL, which was significantly higher than that in the healthy controls (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference between the 5-10 year group (15.6 ± 1.4 pg/mL) and the healthy controls.

Conclusions

CFS patients with a disease duration of ≤ 5 years had significantly higher levels of α-MSH in their peripheral blood. α-MSH could be a potent biological marker for the diagnosis of CFS, at least during the first 5 years after onset of the disease.