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About the Study

Who runs this study?

The Symptom Science Center of the National Institute of Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health is dedicated in understanding why people get fatigued more than others. You can find out more about us here:
SSC (https://www.ninr.nih.gov/researchandfunding/dir#symptom-science)

What is this study about?

The purpose of this research study is to describe fatigue, as reported by patients with different medical conditions. The cause of fatigue is not well understood. Since fatigue often occurs along with other symptoms such as sleep problems, it is difficult to explain the causes. Fatigue could be experienced differently depending upon the person, situation, or even time of day. It is believed that these differences in the fatigue experience are because fatigue is made up of different types. Some believe that fatigue may be because of physical exhaustion. Others feel that fatigue may be related to mental tiredness, depression, or even lack of motivation.

We believe that understanding the specific types of fatigue will be helpful to understand the causes and to design therapies to treat it. We believe that fatigue is due to common processes, no matter the medical condition. So, a therapy that can treat a specific type of fatigue in one condition, should be able to treat that type of fatigue in other medical conditions.

We are asking you to join this research study because you may have experienced fatigue in your life.

What kind of commitment is involved?

This study will compare responses from fatigued and non-fatigued participants. If you decide to participate in this study, you will answer some questionnaires, play some computer games, and complete some physical activities. You will be asked to provide samples such as blood, urine, saliva, and cheek swabs to do genetic tests and other tests that can explain your fatigue. No more than 1 cup of blood will be drawn during the entire study. If you are fatigued, you will further discuss your fatigue in interviews and a consultation with the research team. You will have the option to also participate in an optional brain scan, which will help us improve the procedures in the actual brain scan section of the study. At the end of your participation, you will be offered resources about fatigue and how to manage it.

This study will have a screening portion, followed by Stage 1 and Stage 2, which are about one month apart. All in all, this study requires up to 10 visits to the NIH Clinical Center. Each visit will take no more than 4 hours to complete. After you complete the study, the research team might re-contact you about other fatigue studies at NIH.

How can I ask questions or ask for help?

Email us at PCASOStudy@nih.gov (or click on Contact). We will get back to you within 2 business days.