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New Retrovirus Is Associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Could a human retrovirus be one cause of CFS?

Neurological, immunologic, and metabolic abnormalities, along with chronic infection with several latent viruses, have been demonstrated repeatedly in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Yet, despite such objective biological abnormalities, the absence of a clear etiologic agent that could explain all these abnormalities has led some observers to conclude that CFS is a psychiatric condition.

Teams from various U.S. medical institutions report that they have identified DNA from a recently discovered human retrovirus, XMRV, in 67% of patients with CFS versus 4% of healthy controls. Many CFS patients, but few healthy controls, had both viral nucleic acid and viral proteins in multiple types of white blood cells, and antibodies to the virus were prevalent in CFS patients. When uninfected human cells were placed in culture with white blood cells from CFS patients, the previously uninfected cells became infected.

Comment: The known human retroviruses cause neurological, immunologic, and metabolic abnormalities and can also reactivate latent viral infections. Thus, this new virus, XMRV, is a plausible etiologic agent for CFS. We already know that CFS can follow in the wake of infections with other agents, so XMRV is unlikely to be the sole etiologic agent of CFS. Indeed, even if the association between XMRV and CFS is confirmed by other researchers in other groups of patients, that data alone would not establish causality.

— Anthony L. Komaroff, MD

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine October 22, 2009

Citation(s):

Lombardi VC et al. Detection of an infectious retrovirus, XMRV, in blood cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Science 2009 Oct 8; [e-pub ahead of print]. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1179052)

Reader Remarks:

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• CFS and retrovirus
  cindy heibel, JMCE, 23 Oct 2009 12:27 PM EST
  Great information. Has there been any specualtion into what agents may ameliorate these retroviruses, or any proposed treatments that may... [more]
• CFS
  Michael Harris, Retired F.R.C.G.P., A.F.O.M., 23 Oct 2009 12:27 PM EST
  We were all shocked when duodenal ulcers were said to be caused by an infective agent, H. Pylori, but it... [more]
• CFS
  Dr Mervyn Henry Garrett, 26 Oct 2009 12:29 PM EST
  IV Vitamin C in doses of 15-30G+ is an effective virucidal agent and I have used it in CFS with... [more]
• Etiology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  Prof. Suraj Gupte, Professor & Head, Postgraduate Department of Pediatrics, NMC,Nellore, S. India, 9 Nov 2009 3:05 PM EST
  Over the past two decades or rather more, we have studied various aspects of CFS with special reference to its... [more]