Doctors at the Royal Adelaide Hospital are currently researching potassium levels in CFS sufferers. They have stated that "Although the exact cause for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is not known there are many theories as to its possible cause. The most likely, on information available at the present time, is that it is due to an infection with a virus which damages the muscles. This damage to the muscles may result in them not responding as well as they should to changes in potassium during exercise. Potassium is a salt in the body which mainly is present in the muscle cells. Any cause of low potassium can give increased muscle weakness and fatigue. It is because of this relationship between the amount of potassium in the body and muscle fatigue that we would like to examine the total levels of potassium.

Previous studies have not shown any changes in the level of potassium in the blood with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but the total amount in the body may be what is important".


The researchers wish to measure the level of total body potassium by the use of a whole body counter. This counts the amount of naturally occurring radioactive potassium in the body with use of special detectors which can identify this very minute amount of potassium, which is about 0.01% of all the potassium present in the body.

Acknowledgment: Reprinted from Talking Point, September 1995, Official Journal of the CFS/ME Society (SA) Inc.

Reprinted from Emerge, December 1995.