Two viruses found in mice have no role in the development of chronic fatigue syndrome in humans, researchers said yesterday.
Studies two years ago reported finding the viruses in patients with the disease – seeming to confirm beliefs that CFS, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME, had a viral origin.
But the findings of the largest study so far on the topic show no trace of infection with the two viruses.
Researchers studied nearly 150 patients with the condition, comparing them with 150 other people, conducting genetic studies to look for traces of two kinds of virus.
One is known as xenotropic murine leukaemia virus and the other as polytropic MLVs.
The findings were being reported in the journal mBio by the American Society for Microbiology. Experts say the earlier findings may have been caused by contamination of samples.
Researcher Professor Ian Lipkin, of Columbia University, New York, USA, said: "Although the once promising XMRV and pMLV hypotheses have been excluded, the consequences of the early reports linking these viruses to disease are that new resources and investigators have been recruited to address the challenge of the CFS/ME.
"We are confident that these investments will yield insights into the causes, prevention and treatment of CFS/ME."
mBio September 18 2012
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