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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) Blog
Related terms: CFS, Immune Dysfunction Syndrome, Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome, Benign Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, ME, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, CFIDS, Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome
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New Clues to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 24 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 24 – The brains of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome – an often misunderstood condition marked by unexplained, incapacitating exhaustion – don't respond to rewards in the same way as the brains of healthy people do, a new study suggests. Researchers performed functional MRI scans on the brains of 18 people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and 41 healthy volunteers, finding that those with chronic fatigue experienced significantly less change in blood flow to the basal ganglia in response to winning a simple card game meant to stimulate feelings of reward. Previous research has shown that the basal ganglia, a region at the base of the brain associated with motor activity and motivation, is affected in diseases associated with fatigue. Participants with the most severe chronic fatigue had the smallest change in basal ganglia activity, the study showed. "We don't ... Read more
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Web-Based Therapy May Help Teens With Chronic Fatigue
Posted 1 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, March 1 – Teens with chronic fatigue syndrome, which can cause poor concentration and memory as well as joint and muscle pain, may benefit from an Internet-based treatment known as FITNET, a new study has found. Researchers in the Netherlands studied teens with the debilitating condition and found that 63 percent reported that they felt better or had recovered after six months of the Web-based therapy, according to the report published online March 1 in The Lancet. FITNET gave the teens electronic access to cognitive behavior therapy, which has shown promising results for this age group. "With FITNET, effective treatment is within reach for any adolescent with [chronic fatigue syndrome]. These findings stress the need for proper and rapid diagnosis and making medical professionals aware of adolescent [chronic fatigue syndrome] and the treatment options," study author Sanne ... Read more
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Journal Retracts Faulty Chronic Fatigue Study
Posted 22 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Dec. 22 – Laying rest to a long-simmering controversy, editors at the journal Science have retracted a paper that pinpointed a specific virus as the likely cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. The 2009 report suggested that xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) was the probable culprit behind chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), which causes crippling fatigue, aching joints, headaches and other symptoms in about 1 percent of the world's population. Follow-up findings failed to confirm the report, leading to Thursday's unusual action. Science announced the retraction to media today; it will be published in the Dec. 23 issue of the journal. "Science has lost confidence in the Report and the validity of its conclusions," said Bruce Alberts, editor-in-chief of the journal, in a statement. "We regret the time and resources that the scientific community has devoted to ... Read more
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Chronic Fatigue Tied to Extended School Absences
Posted 13 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Dec. 13 – Undiagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome may account for up to 1 percent of children who are absent from school for extended periods of time and are not truant or known to have another illness that would explain why they're out of school, a new study reveals. For the study, researchers examined data from 2,855 students aged 11 to 16 at three secondary schools in England and concluded that undiagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) was responsible for 28 of the students being away from school for more than 20 percent of the time over six weeks. "There are several possible reasons why children missing significant amounts of school with CFS/ME are not identified," Dr. Esther Crawley, of the Center for Child and Adolescent Health at University of Bristol and colleagues, wrote in the report published online Dec. 12 in the journal BMJ Open. "Those ... Read more
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New Report Casts More Doubt on Virus' Link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 22 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Sept. 22 – Researchers have shot another arrow through the credibility of claims that a virus likely causes chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This time, results from nine different labs around the United States failed to differentiate patients with CFS from healthy controls solely on the basis of whether they tested positive for xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV). The study was published in the Sept. 22 online issue of Science, along with a partial retraction from the authors of the 2009 study that first fingered XMRV as a probable culprit behind CFS. This is the 17th study to repudiate the 2009 findings, which were also published in Science, according to a statement released by the Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) Association of America. "We share the deep disappointment of many CFS patients and scientists that the initial data did not ... Read more
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Studies Refute Virus' Link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 31 May 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, May 31 – A virus identified two years ago as a possible cause of chronic fatigue syndrome now turns out not to be the culprit, new research says. Experts say it's a major setback in the effort to understand and treat this mysterious and debilitating disease. The authors of a new study published May 31 in Science find that the so-called XMRV viral pathogen spotted in human samples in the prior study (published by the same journal in 2009) likely got there as a result of "genetic recombination." That can occur in the laboratory when DNA from different viruses mix. In this case, two mouse viruses combined and the product of that union then contaminated the human specimens via "reagent" compounds used in the lab, the new research shows. This probable contamination of the samples with XMRV in the lab "means that this virus has no proven association" with chronic fatigue syndrome, ... Read more
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Study Finds No Link Between XMRV Virus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 12 May 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, May 12 – A new study shows that a retrovirus called XMRV is not present in the blood of people with chronic fatigue syndrome, a finding that contradicts previous research that linked XMRV to the condition. University of Utah School of Medicine researchers analyzed blood samples from chronic fatigue syndrome patients and found no evidence of XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus). The new study findings were published online May 4 in the Journal of Virology. The findings of a previous study, published in 2009 in the journal Science, led some chronic fatigue patients to take antiretroviral drugs in an effort to ease their debilitating symptoms. But this new research suggests that the use of antiretroviral drugs by chronic fatigue syndrome patients is not appropriate and potentially dangerous, study leader Dr. Ila R. Singh, an associate professor of pathology, ... Read more
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Hits Teens, Too
Posted 23 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, April 22 – Chronic fatigue syndrome, often thought to be a condition that only afflicts adults, affects adolescents as well but is often overlooked, according to a new Dutch report in Pediatrics. Though the syndrome is much less common among teens than adults, it often goes undiagnosed, especially by general practice doctors, according to Dr. S.L. Nijhof, co-author of the report and a physician at Wilhelmina Children's Hospital at the University Medical Center in Utrecht. Nijhof isn't referring to the tiredness typical of growing, busy teens. "Fatigue is a common complaint among adolescents, with a good prognosis," Nijhof said. "Chronic fatigue syndrome is much less common, but with serious consequences." Nijhof and fellow researchers collected data from 354 general practitioners in the Netherlands who responded to a national survey focusing on new patients diagnosed with ... Read more
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Spinal Fluid May Hold Clues to Lyme Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 24 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 24 – An analysis of proteins in spinal fluid can help distinguish patients with Lyme disease from those with chronic fatigue syndrome, a new study reports. It also appears that both diseases, which can cause similar symptoms, involve the central nervous system and that protein abnormalities in the central nervous system are causes and/or effects of both conditions, said the research team, which was led by Dr. Steven E. Schutzer, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, and Richard D. Smith, of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In the study, the investigators analyzed spinal fluid from 43 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), 25 people who had been diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease, but did not completely recover (neurologic post-treatment Lyme disease, or nPTLS), and 11 healthy people. The researchers ... Read more
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Study Says Two Therapies Help Fight Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 18 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 17 – Patients struggling with chronic fatigue syndrome may be helped the most when standard treatment is coupled with cognitive behavior therapy or exercise therapy, new British research suggests. The apparent promise of cognitive behavior therapy and "graded exercise therapy" offers considerable hope to patients combating the complex condition characterized by profound tiredness, impaired concentration, diminished memory, sleep difficulties and muscle and joint pain, the study authors said. The findings also support the somewhat controversial notion that incremental adjustments in physical behavior and/or mental attitude can ultimately have a positive impact on the disorder, the authors said. The standard intervention, known as specialist medical care, is centered around giving patients information about their condition, advice on how to manage symptoms and assistance ... Read more
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More Evidence Mouse Virus Plays Role in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 23 Aug 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Aug. 23 – Another study has found evidence that a mouse virus may play a role in chronic fatigue syndrome, a poorly understood disorder that causes incapacitating exhaustion and malaise. Using blood samples collected in the mid-1990s from chronic fatigue sufferers from the New England area, researchers found evidence of gene sequences for murine leukemia virus (MLV)-related virus in the blood of 32 of 37 patients, or 86.5 percent. Evidence of the virus was detected in only three of 44 healthy controls, or 6.8 percent of people who did not have chronic fatigue syndrome, the researchers noted. The team also did genetic testing on fresh blood samples from eight of the chronic fatigue patients and found evidence of MLV in seven of them. The study, published in the Aug. 23-27 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted by researchers from the ... Read more
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Retrovirus May Be at Root of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 16 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Oct. 8 – About two-thirds of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome sampled in a recent study were infected with a retrovirus called XMRV. The finding, albeit preliminary, has raised hopes that there might be a concrete cause for the mysterious malady and thus, down the line, treatments for the disease. "This study does not prove that XMRV is the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome, however it does suggest it is a viable candidate for a cause," said Robert H. Silverman, co-author of a report appearing online Oct. 8 in Science. "But if it can be proven that the virus causes the disease, that would be a breakthrough in diagnosing, combating and preventing the disease," added Silverman, a professor of cancer biology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. "There could be an antiretroviral drug that could prevent this virus from replicating." Another expert was similarly ... Read more
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HIV Drugs Might Combat Two Other Diseases
Posted 3 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, April 1 – Four anti-HIV drugs inhibit a retrovirus recently linked to prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), say U.S. researchers. If further investigation proves that the retrovirus xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) causes prostate cancer or CFS, these HIV drugs may be an effective treatment for the two conditions. In this study, researchers from the University of Utah and Emory University/Veterans Affair Medical Center tested how effectively 45 compounds used to treat HIV and other viral infections worked against XMRV. Raltegravir was the most effective, and three other drugs – L-00870812, zidovudine (ZDV or AZT), and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) – also prevented XMRV replication. "Our study showed that these drugs inhibited XMRV at lower concentrations when two of them were used together, suggesting that possible highly potent ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Prostate Cancer, Viread, Tenofovir, Retrovir, Raltegravir, Zidovudine, Isentress
Virus Unlikely to Cause Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 26 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 25 – A new study adds to evidence that chronic fatigue syndrome doesn't have anything to do with xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), but the researchers point out that there's a caveat regarding American patients. "Although our patient group was relatively small and we cannot formally rule out a role of XMRV, our data cast doubt on the claim that this virus is associated with chronic fatigue syndrome in the majority of patients," the researchers report in the Feb. 26 online edition of the BMJ. No one knows what causes chronic fatigue syndrome, which is thought to affect millions of people around the world. But a recent U.S. study found signs of XMRV in two-thirds of patients with the condition. However, other studies, including this most recent one, suggest that there's no connection between the virus and chronic fatigue syndrome. In the new study, ... Read more
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-Virus Link Questioned
Posted 21 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 19 – In a finding that questions previous research into the disease known as chronic fatigue syndrome, British researchers report that they've found no link between the condition and xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus. Kate Bishop, of the MRC National Institute for Medical Research in London, and colleagues tested samples of blood and serum from 170 people with chronic fatigue syndrome and 395 healthy people. The researchers found no connection between chronic fatigue syndrome and the virus. The finding, published online Feb. 15 in the journal Retrovirology, rebuts previous research that did find the virus in chronic fatigue syndrome patients. In a news release from the journal's publisher, Bishop said her team's tests were more sensitive than those used in the earlier research. However, the study authors noted that chronic fatigue syndrome is probably made up ... Read more
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