ME virus link rejected
Thursday January 7th, 2010
British researchers have rejected claims that a newly-discovered virus causes chronic fatigue syndrome - or ME.
An analysis of British patients with the disease found no trace of the virus, known as XMRV.
The link was reported in October in the journal Science.
A British team tested some 168 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as ME.
Researcher Dr Anthony Cleare, of King's College, London, said: "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a serious and debilitating condition.
"It can also be extremely frustrating for people with the illness, as we have yet to identify its fundamental cause, or come up with any definitive treatments.
"The
recent US study generated real excitement among doctors and patients alike
as it seemed to open up a new line of research. Unfortunately, we have
not been able to replicate those findings."
An estimated three out of every 1,000 people succumb to chronic fatigue syndrome - although no single cause has ever been found for it until October's report.
Researcher Professor Myra McClure, of Imperial College, London, said the British team was confident in its findings, which showed that anti-virus drugs would not help patients.
The research was published in the on-line journal PLoS ONE.
She said: "Our research was carried out under rigorous conditions - we looked at samples from well-studied patients, and we used very sensitive testing methods to look for the virus. If it had been there, we would have found it."
Fellow researcher Professor Simon Wessely said: "It is important to emphasise that today's findings do not invalidate all previous research, some of which has shown that CFS can be triggered by other infective agents, such as Epstein Barr Virus or Giardia parasites.
"As ever in science, no single study is conclusive and there are lots of other research groups working on this at the moment.
Tags: Flu & Viruses | UK News
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