Date: October 19, 2011
URL: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/plos-bdu101711.php
B-lymphocyte depletion using the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab in
chronic fatigue syndrome
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Contact: Yael Franco
yfranco@plos.org
415-568-3169
Public Library of Science
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may be alleviated by the anti-cancer
drug Rituximab, suggesting that the source of the disease could lie in
the immune system, according to a new study published Oct. 19 in the
online journal PLoS ONE. Uncertainty about the cause of CFS, which is
characterized by extreme, unexplained exhaustion, among other
symptoms, has led to much debate, but the authors of this recent study
believe they may have found the answer.
The work, led by Drs. Oystein Fluge and Olav Mella of Haukeland
University Hospital in Norway, was initiated when the researchers
noticed a patient with both chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and
Hodgkin's lymphoma who showed marked recovery from CFS symptoms upon
treatment with chemotherapy.
The investigators reasoned that the effect could be mediated through
B-lymphocyte depletion, and to further investigate this connection
they conducted first a pilot case series, and then a double-blind,
placebo-controlled phase II trial with 30 CFS patients, and found that
the Rituximab treatment was associated with significant, but generally
transient, improvement in CFS symptoms.
Rituximab is a B-lymphocyte depleting agent. It acts as an antibody
against a protein found primarily on the surface these cells, which
are a component of the immune system. According to the authors, "the
delay of clinical responses after the initial and rapid B-cell
depletion suggests to us that CFS/ME, which is often preceded by an
infection, may be a form of autoimmune disease in which B-cells are
important". Thus, this study reveals a potential new direction for CFS
research.
###
Citation: Fluge O, Bruland O, Risa K, Storstein A, Kristoffersen EK,
et al. (2011) Benefit from B-Lymphocyte Depletion Using the Anti-CD20
Antibody Rituximab in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A Double-Blind and
Placebo-Controlled Study. PLoS ONE 6(10): e26358.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026358
Financial Disclosure: The work received financial support from Helse
Vest grant no 911557, and also from the legacy of Torstein Hereid.
These funders had no role in study design, data collection and
analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interest Statement: Haukeland University Hospital has
patents and pending patent applications on the issue of B-cell
depletion therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome. Family members of
WO2009083602 A1 are pending, as well as granted US 12/348024. The two
authors OF and OM are named as inventors in these applications. This
does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLoS ONE policies on
sharing data and materials.
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http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0026358
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