--- description: Chronic-fatigue syndrome has been renamed systemic-exertion-intolerance disease (SEID) and proclaimed real by the Institute of Medicine title: Chronic-Fatigue Syndrome Proclaimed Real and Renamed image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4401ad42a2168fe2/69877eeb2dce0132a39dd851/482136845.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Research](/tag/research/) ## Research Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Chronic-Fatigue Syndrome Is Real and Is Now Called Systemic-Exertion-Intolerance Disease by [Sabrina Toppa](/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 12, 2015 8:30 AM CUT  Hispanic teenage girl covering eyes in bed Hispanic teenage girl covering eyes in bedGetty Images by [Sabrina Toppa](/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 12, 2015 8:30 AM CUT Sufferers of chronic-fatigue syndrome have long complained about what they regard as a trivializing name for their condition. Now, they can claim two victories: it was [renamed](http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/02/11/385465667/panel-says-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-is-a-disease-and-renames-it "undefined") systemic-exertion-intolerance disease (SEID), and was proclaimed to be a real disease by a panel from the Institute of Medicine, an influential government advisory body. The 15-member panel, which released a 235-page report Tuesday also offered new and simplified diagnostic criteria: profound fatigue, total exhaustion after even minor physical or mental exertion, unrefreshing sleep and “brain fog.” The disease, afflicting anywhere from 860,000 to 2.5 million Americans, can leave sufferers incapacitated, incapable of attending school or going to work. The majority are undiagnosed because there is no test and sufferers battle a prevailing stigma that their ailment is primarily psychological. \[[_NPR_](http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/02/11/385465667/panel-says-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-is-a-disease-and-renames-it "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3706453/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-systemic-exertion-intolerance-disease/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3706453/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-systemic-exertion-intolerance-disease/"},"headline":"Chronic-Fatigue Syndrome Is Real and Is Now Called Systemic-Exertion-Intolerance Disease","datePublished":"2015-02-12T08:30:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:11:28.878Z","description":"Top medical advisory body publishes comprehensive report","url":"https://time.com/3706453/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-systemic-exertion-intolerance-disease/","keywords":["Research","health","Report","diseases"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4401ad42a2168fe2/69877eeb2dce0132a39dd851/482136845.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sabrina Toppa","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4401ad42a2168fe2/69877eeb2dce0132a39dd851/482136845.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"482136845","caption":"482136845","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3706453/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-systemic-exertion-intolerance-disease/","name":"Chronic-Fatigue Syndrome Is Real and Is Now Called Systemic-Exertion-Intolerance Disease"}}]}] ```