Pilot fatigue study

O Dell MW, Meighen M, Riggs RV. Correlates of fatigue in HIV infection prior to AIDS a pilot study. Disabil Rehabil 1996 18 249-254. 

In an open-label pilot study of rapid administration of slow-release lithium (20 mg/kg/day in two divided doses) for acute mania, five of 15 patients completed 10 days of treatment, seven improved sooner and were discharged, two withdrew because of adverse effects (bradycardia in one and tremor, fatigue, and diarrhea in the other and one patient appears not to have been accounted for) two other patients also had asymptomatic bradycardia (129). 

Gillsori G, Richar-d TL, Smitli RB, Wright JV (2002) A double-blind pilot study of tlie effect of Prokai-in on fatigue in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler Feb 8(l) 20-25. 

In a 9-week, single-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study in 72 patients with multiple sclerosis who took modafinil 200 mg/day for 2 weeks, there was significant improvement in fatigue compared with placebo run-in treatment (8). The most frequent adverse effects were headache, nausea, and anxiety, and these were rated as either mild or moderate. 

Another naturally occurring plant product may also help. Debra Barton, Ph.D., is a registered nurse and a researcher at the North Central Cancer Treatment Group based at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She and her team have recently completed a well-controlled pilot study of American ginseng. Theirs is the first to evaluate the effectiveness of Wisconsin-grown ginseng to treat cancer-related fatigue. 

To obtain the same formulation of ginseng used by investigators at the Mayo Clinic in the pilot study of ginseng for cancer-related fatigue, contact the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin at (715) 845-7300 or at www.gingsengboard.com where you will find a link to a summary of the pilot study. 

Previous laboratory studies have shown that fatigue associated with restrieted sleep greatly impairs performance. Speeifieally, research has shown that human performance can be impaired after six or seven hours of sleep restriction, and sleep restriction of four hours or less can lead to mierosleeps (Caldwell and Caldwell, 2003). Notably, data from aviation studies have found evidence of pilots experiencing microsleeps, which are more likely to occur during international in-bound trips (Samel, Wegmann and Vejvoda, 1997). 

Dass S, Bowman SJ, Vital EM, Ikeda K, Pease CT, Hamburger J, Richards A, Rauz S, Emery P. Reduction of fatigue in Sjogren syndrome with rituximab results of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. Ann Rheum Dis 2008 67(11) 1541. ... 

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