On Fri, 20 Oct 1995 07:37:42 GMT,
mari at netcom.com <mari at netcom.com> wrote:
>Can anyone tell me the background, causes and/or cures to this disorder:
>Neurasthenia?
>
Mari:
The term neurasthenia was coined in the 19th century by Beard.
Roughly speaking it is nervous exhaustion. The term isn't used today
in the U.S., but it does appear in the ICD and I believe is a
popular diagnosis in some places like Taiwan.
It's only a very rough diagnosis, because this type of medical
condition tends to be very poorly defined, showing great variation
from one patient to the next. Even for a single patient, the disease
can wax and wane in intensity, with an ever changing pattern of
symptoms.
To say that neurasthenia is a controversial medical condition would be
an understatment. It baffled the physicians of the 19th century, in
the same way that one form, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, still baffles
most of them today.
There is anecdotal evidence that CFS can be treated by the
mineralcorticoid fludrocortisone, and by the combination of the
dopamine and serotonin indirect agonists phentermine + fenfluramine.
