Johansson Birgitta, Rönnbäck Lars
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, 40530 Göteborg, Sweden.
J Clin Med. 2025 May 8;14(10):3271. doi: 10.3390/jcm14103271.
Fatigue is a common consequence of traumatic brain injury, neurological diseases or developmental disorders, and systemic inflammatory diseases, including autoimmune conditions that affect the brain. This condition is characterized by reduced endurance for cognitive tasks, diminished quality of life, and impaired work capacity. In addition to cognitive difficulties, individuals often experience disproportionately long recovery times after demanding tasks, emotional instability, stress sensitivity, sensory sensitivity, impaired ability to initiate activities, and sleep disturbances. Tension headaches frequently occur when the brain is excessively activated by mental activity. In this paper, we propose the term "Brain Fatigue Syndrome" (BFS) as a collective name for the symptoms closely associated with this pathological fatigue resulting from brain impact. BFS can be identified through interviews and measured using the self-assessment instrument, the Mental Fatigue Scale (MFS). We suggest potential underlying mechanisms at the cellular level for the BFS symptom complex, including astrocyte dysfunction with impaired glutamate signaling and glucose uptake, mitochondrial dysfunction, blood-brain barrier dysfunction, and the activation of microglia and mast cells. In conclusion, BFS suggests a general brain impact. The symptoms associated with BFS typically resolve when the injury or disease heals. However, in some individuals, BFS persists even after the injury or illness has ostensibly healed.
疲劳是创伤性脑损伤、神经疾病或发育障碍以及全身性炎症性疾病（包括影响大脑的自身免疫性疾病）的常见后果。这种情况的特征是认知任务耐力下降、生活质量降低和工作能力受损。除了认知困难外，个体在完成艰巨任务后往往恢复时间过长、情绪不稳定、压力敏感、感觉敏感、启动活动的能力受损以及睡眠障碍。当大脑因精神活动过度激活时，紧张性头痛经常发生。在本文中，我们提出“脑疲劳综合征”（BFS）这一术语，作为与这种由脑损伤引起的病理性疲劳密切相关的症状的统称。BFS可以通过访谈来识别，并使用自我评估工具——精神疲劳量表（MFS）进行测量。我们提出了BFS症状复合体在细胞水平上的潜在潜在机制，包括星形胶质细胞功能障碍伴谷氨酸信号传导和葡萄糖摄取受损、线粒体功能障碍、血脑屏障功能障碍以及小胶质细胞和肥大细胞的激活。总之，BFS提示存在一般性脑损伤。与BFS相关的症状通常在损伤或疾病治愈后消失。然而，在一些个体中，即使损伤或疾病表面上已经治愈，BFS仍然存在。
