Neurological fatigue

Prevalent amongst sufferers of multiple sclerosis (some people with Narcolepsy also report this feeling), neurological fatigue is a feeling of overwhelming lassitude or tiredness that can occur at any time of the day, for any duration and does not necessarily recur in a recognisable pattern for any given patient.^[1] Neurological fatigue has been described as an overwhelming feeling of weakness not associated with increased physical effort. There is near universal support that the fatigue experienced by people with MS goes beyond that of people without the disease. Many Multiple Sclerosis patients report sleeping more than 12 hours a night on successive nights and still being too tired to complete their daily duties despite feeling physically rested. This fatigue is also highly variable and there are some with MS who do not experience neurological fatigue as a primary symptom. As this fatigue is an invisible symptom, and because of the difficulty of explaining the 'tired brain' feeling of neurological fatigue, others can misinterpret the behavior of persons with MS as lack of effort, but it is important for those dealing with MS patients to realize that this may not be the case.^[2] The specific causes of fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis sufferers are not fully understood.

References

1. ^ Comi G, Leocani L, Rossi P, Colombo B (March 2001). "Physiopathology and treatment of fatigue in multiple sclerosis". J. Neurol. 248 (3): 174–9. doi:10.1007/s004150170222. PMID 11355149. 
2. ^ Mills RJ, Young CA, Pallant JF, Tennant A (2010). "Development of a patient reported outcome scale for fatigue in multiple sclerosis: The Neurological Fatigue Index (NFI-MS)". Health Qual Life Outcomes 8: 22. doi:10.1186/1477-7525-8-22. PMC 2834659. PMID 20152031. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2834659.