Politics Plays Role in Disease Research

Sueraja Narasimhan works with DNA samples at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's chronic fatigue syndrome lab in Atlanta, Dec. 6, 2006. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) (John Bazemore - AP)

CDC funding for the condition has been steady in recent years, and chronic fatigue syndrome is only a minor budget line at the agency. Dental health programs get twice as much, and birth defects and disabilities efforts get more than seven times as much, according to agency budget figures. Domestic HIV/AIDS research and programs typically get more than 130 times the chronic fatigue allocation.

The public awareness campaign money is considered reparations for the diversion of funds in the mid-1990s, said McCleary, who was master of ceremonies at the CDC press conference on the new ad campaign.

"It's sort of considered their good faith for any of that ever happening," she said.

CDC officials say science is driving the public awareness campaign, not guilt. Scientists at the press conference noted the CDC's chronic fatigue research group generated about 80 peer-reviewed papers since 2000 that provided new information about the cost and genetics of the condition.

"The science is there and we need to respect and make that science more visible," CDC chief Julie Gerberding said at the event.

At the same time, officials recognized that they still don't know for certain what causes the illness. There still is no medical test for it, nor a cure. It may be a collection of illnesses, with different mechanisms.

Reeves co-authored a 2004 article that found a decline in chronic fatigue in the first few months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A study published last year found that childhood abuse and neglect increased the likelihood of chronic fatigue in some patients.

Such findings may suggest a complex interaction between stress, genetics and other factors in why some people develop chronic fatigue. Or, according to Manu, it may suggest something else entirely _ an absence of real physical illness.

"I don't think there is much to it," said Manu, a professor at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He believes many of the skeptical researchers have moved on to other topics and have stopped talking about chronic fatigue.

Manu is one of only a few scientists still making such arguments. Others say scientific consensus has shifted away from Manu, and most doctors no longer doubt chronic fatigue is a real medical condition.

The new ad campaign is playing a pivotal role in finally moving American society past skepticism, CFIDS Association officials said. As of the end of January, the spot has aired 4,425 times in 122 markets on 180 TV stations, McCleary said.

Advocates are also working with Hillenbrand, who is considered the highest-profile celebrity to speak often and openly about the condition. Celebrities make a big impression on many members of Congress, McCleary noted.