Environmental illness: Fatigue and cholinesterase activity in patients reporting hypersensitivity to electricity

The lack of a pathophysiological marker hinders studies on environmental il lnesses of unknown origin. Hence, research focused on the identification of such a marker is a priority. This study investigated the nature and a poss ible etiology of fatigue in hypersensitivity to electricity (the most commo nly reported environmental illness in Sweden). The aim was to test the hypo thesis that perceived fatigue was due to alterations in cholinesterase acti vity. The study group consisted of 14 people who reported a hypersensitivit y to electricity, including disabling fatigue. We assessed cholinesterase a ctivity three times: twice based on current symptoms reported by the subjec ts (severe fatigue attributed to electromagnetic fields and absence of this symptom) and once at a randomly selected time. No sig nificant reduction i n acetylcholinesterase was identified in any subject. Examined on a group l evel, no significant reduction in activity was identified at the time of se vere fatigue, and no correlation between reported degree of fatigue and cho linesterase activity was observed. Fatigue attributed to electromagnetic fi elds was nonphysical and showed a significant correlation to difficulties i n concentrating. The results do not support the hypothesis that a change in cholinesterase activity mediates fatigue in people reporting hypersensitiv ity to electricity. (C) 2001 Academic Press.