Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Psychiatry, Childhood trauma, Chronic fatigue syndrome, DNA methylation, Glucocorticoid receptor, HPA axis, NR3C1, FUNCTIONAL SOMATIC SYMPTOMS, CHRONIC DISABLING FATIGUE, NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, AXIS HYPOFUNCTION, GENE NR3C1, AGE 13, STRESS, DEPRESSION, ASSOCIATION, RISK, Adult, Child, DNA Methylation, Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic, Female, Humans, Hypothalamus, Male, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Psychological Trauma, Receptors, Glucocorticoid, 11 Medical and Health Sciences, 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, 5202 Biological psychology, 5203 Clinical and health psychology

Abstract:

Although the precise mechanisms are not yet understood, previous studies have suggested that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation and trauma in early childhood. Consistent with findings suggesting that early life stress-induced DNA methylation changes may underlie dysregulation of the HPA axis, we previously found evidence for the involvement of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene (NR3C1) methylation in whole blood of CFS patients.