Viral clue to fatigue syndrome

Tuesday August 24th, 2010

A mysterious virus, associated with mice, may be responsible for chronic fatigue syndrome in humans, scientists reported yesterday.

The latest discoveries, by US government researchers, will throw open the debate about the disease, also known as ME.

Some patient groups have insisted for years the disease has a biological cause - but the absence of evidence has made many doctors sceptical.

But the new finding led to calls for anti-virus drugs to be tested on patients with ME.

The findings were reported in the US-based Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researcher Shyh-Ching Lo, of the US Federal Drug Administration in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, conducted genetic studies of patients in the search for viral infections.

His study of 37 patients found evidence of viruses similar to a mouse virus, murine leukaemia virus, in 32 cases.

The researchers say: "The findings demonstrate the need for further rounds of research to determine whether MLV-related viruses are found in other groups of patients and whether the viruses play a role in triggering the disorder."

Journal editor Randy Schekman also writes in the journal to explain why he decided to publish the research - and why he also delayed publication.

Last month a journal called Retrovirology published a similar study which found no evidence of MLV-like viruses in fatigue syndrome patients - but the new study suggests the use of more sophisticated detection methods.

Mr Schekman warns of the "possible public health implications" of the findings and in the same journal experts from France and Canada call for trials of anti-viral drugs to see whether they provide effective treatment.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences August 23 2010

Tags: Flu & Viruses | North America

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