No Link Found Between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Certain Retroviruses
Author Information
Author(s): Brent C Satterfield, Rebecca A Garcia, Hongwei Jia, Shaohua Tang, HaoQiang Zheng, William M Switzer
Primary Institution: Cooperative Diagnostics, LLC and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Hypothesis
Is there an association between xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related viruses and chronic fatigue syndrome in the United States?
Conclusion
The study found no evidence of XMRV or MuLV in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome or healthy controls.
Supporting Evidence
- No XMRV or MuLV was detected in any of the 87 samples tested.
- The study included a broader geographic distribution than previous studies.
- All participants met the 1994 research case definition for CFS.
Takeaway
Researchers looked for a virus in people with chronic fatigue syndrome but didn't find any, suggesting it might not be the cause of their illness.
Methodology
Blood samples from 45 CFS cases and 42 controls were tested using PCR and serologic assays for XMRV and MuLV.
Potential Biases
Potential for contamination in laboratory testing could affect results.
Limitations
The study may not account for all possible geographic and demographic variations in CFS cases.
Participant Demographics
{"CFS_cases":{"N":31,"AvgAge":44,"AvgDuration":"12.8 years","Caucasian":"87%","Female":"61%"},"CFS_negative":{"N":42,"AvgAge":23,"Caucasian":"71%","Female":"45%"}}
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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