A Brief Historic Overview of Clinical Disorders Associated with Tryptophan: The Relevance to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM).

Abstract

Last century there was a short burst of interest in the tryptophan related disorders of pellagra and related abnormalities that are usually presented in infancy.1 , 2Nutritional physiologists recognized that a severe human dietary deficiency of either tryptophan or the B group vitamins could result in central nervous system (CNS) sequelae such as ataxia, cognitive dysfunction and dysphoria, accompanied by skin hyperpigmentation.3 , 4The current paper will focus on the emerging role of tryptophan in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM).