Myalgic Encephalomyelitis - known commonly as M.E. can be defined by a range of neurological symptoms and signs, muscle pain with extreme physical or mental tiredness, relapses, and specific cognitive disabilities.
The cardinal symptoms of ME are generalised by loss of muscle power (fatigability); muscle aches which may include tenderness and swelling; and neurological signs. Patients are also prone to relapses which may take the form of recurrences of the original illness, or fresh episodes of muscle weakness, neurologic changes or well-defined cognitive problems.
As with many chronic illnesses, fatigue may be present, but in ME patients the fatigue is post-exertional, often delayed, and quite unlike the ‘fatigue’ experienced by healthy people.