Scientists say they can explain how a mouse virus mistakenly became linked to chronic fatigue syndrome.
Two reports last night sought to “close the door” on the theory that the XMRV virus might lie behind cases of chronic fatigue – otherwise known as ME or myalgic encephalomyelitis.
The virus had also been linked to prostate cancer.
But, reporting in the journal Science, scientists explain how the virus came to contaminate laboratory samples.
A second study reports no evidence of the virus infecting people with chronic fatigue syndrome – including patients who took part in the original research in 1979.
The research has been backed by US-government agencies.
Researcher Professor John Coffin, of Tufts University School of Medicine, Massachusetts, USA, said: “Taken together, these results essentially close the door on XMRV as a cause of human disease.”
Fellow researcher Dr Vinay Pathak said: “The results published today are not what we would have expected, but due to the time and resources dedicated to the understanding of this virus by researchers at National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health as well as others, scientists can now concentrate on identifying the real causes of these diseases.”
Recombinant Origin of the Retrovirus XMRV. Paprotka et al.Online Science. May 31, 2011. DOI: 10.1126/science.1205292
No Evidence of Murine-like Gammaretroviruses in CFS Patients Previously Identified as XMRV-infected. Knox et al.Online Science. May 31, 2011.
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