Abstract #0243

Mao X, Keegan K, Coplan J, Smith E, Otcheretko V, Gorman J, Levine S, Shungu D, Mathew S

This study used 1H MRSI to explore regional differences in the neurometabolic profiles of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and healthy volunteers. Sixteen GAD patients, sixteen CFS patients, and fifteen medically healthy controls underwent clinical assessment and 1H MR spectroscopy. CFS patients had markedly higher ventricular lactate than did GAD patients or healthy volunteers. Lactate was highly correlated with fatigue severity across groups, suggesting a specific relationship between subjective fatigue and brain lactate concentrations. Validation of ventricular lactate as a reliable diagnostic marker of CFS must await further study.