Scientists have discovered a potential retroviral link to chronic fatigue syndrome, known as CFS, a debilitating disease that affects millions of people in the United States. Researchers from the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI), located at the University of Nevada, Reno, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Cleveland Clinic, report this finding online Oct. 8, 2009, issue of Science. “We now have evidence that a retrovirus named XMRV is frequently present in the blood of patients with CFS. This discovery could be a major step in the discovery of vital treatment options for millions of patients,” said Judy Mikovits, Ph.D., director of research for WPI and leader of the team that discovered this association. Researchers cautioned however, that this finding shows there is an association between XMRV and CFS but does not prove that XMRV causes CFS. [Continue reading at National Institutes of Health]
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Tags: CFS, chronic fatigue syndrome, Cleveland Clinic, National Cancer Institute, NIH, retrovirus, virus, Whittemore Peterson Institute, XMRV
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
October 17th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I wonder if Dr. Steven Chang knows about clonazepam being given for sleep disorder. I would be interested to know. I have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, Epstein-Barr Virus and everything under the sun. Of course, the tests always come back as “having had this at some point in the past,” which does not mean anything when I am aching and tired all of the time with a dry mouth and nose and cannot sleep. I very much believe that the relation to feeling better is in getting a good night’s sleep for which many people are not given medication which allows them to sleep well. A psychiatrist prescribed the above medication for me, and one mg allows me to sleep through the night and feel better the next day. I used to have nightmares or lie awake thinking all night, but not anymore. This medication is supposed to be for seizures, but it should be considered more often for sleep disorders, as should a lot of other problems. No wonder everyone has “chronic fatigue syndrome” when they cannot sleep well.