Chronic fatigue trial for NHS

A therapy that successfully treats two-thirds of children with chronic fatigue syndrome is currently being trialled for NHS use.

The trial, which will be used on 734 children, will use intensive online therapy sessions to adjust sleeping habits and activity levels. It also uses a form of behavioural therapy to help children with the disease adapt the way they live.

Figures show that one in 50 children are affected by the disease and studies suggest that one in 100 children misses at least a day of class a week because of the disease.

Prof Esther Crawley, a children's doctor and from the University of Bristol, is leading the FITNET-NHS trial, to see if online consultations work and are cost-effective for the health service. Funded by the research wing of the NHS in England, he scheme offers behavioural therapy sessions to change the way children think of the disease and aims to reduce the time spent sleeping and sometimes cut activity levels.

Crawley said: “This illness is devastating. About 50 per cent of teenagers are tired, but these children are different - they stop doing the stuff they want to do. The first thing they drop is socialising and fun things, then they drop school, so this is very different to teenagers just being tired."

Trials of the scheme in the Netherlands showed 63 per cent of the patients given therapy had no symptoms after six months, whereas just eight per cent recovered without it.