Date: October 22, 2009 and november 23, 2009
URL: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/712550
http://www.medscape.com/viewpublication/664
New Retrovirus is Associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
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Anthony L. Komaroff, MD
Abstract
Could a human retrovirus be one cause of CFS?
Introduction
Neurological, immunologic, and metabolic abnormalities, along with
chronic infection with several latent viruses, have been
demonstrated repeatedly in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
(CFS). Yet, despite such objective biological abnormalities, the
absence of a clear etiologic agent that could explain all these
abnormalities has led some observers to conclude that CFS is a
psychiatric condition.
Teams from various U.S. research teams report that they have
identified DNA from a human retrovirus, XMRV, in 67% of patients
with CFS versus 4% of healthy controls. Many CFS patients, but few
healthy controls, had both viral nucleic acid and viral proteins
in multiple types of white blood cells, and antibodies to the virus
were prevalent in CFS patients. When uninfected human cells were
placed in culture with white blood cells from CFS patients, the
previously uninfected cells became infected.
Comment
The known human retroviruses cause neurological, immunologic, and
metabolic abnormalities and can also reactivate latent viral
infections. Thus, this new virus, XMRV, is a plausible etiologic
agent for CFS. We already know that CFS can follow in the wake of
infections with other agents, so XMRV is unlikely to be the sole
etiologic agent of CFS. Indeed, even if the association between
XMRV and CFS is confirmed by other researchers in other groups of
patients, that data alone would not establish causality.
References
Lombardi VC et al. Detection of an infectious retrovirus, XMRV, in
blood cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Science 2009
Oct 8;
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(c) 2009 Journal Watch
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