Abstract
BackgroundChronic fatigue syndrome is an idiopathic syndrome widely suspected of having an infectious or immune etiology. We applied an unbiased metagenomic approach to try to identify known or novel infectious agents in the serum of 45 cases with chronic fatigue syndrome or idiopathic chronic fatigue. Controls were the unaffected monozygotic co-twins of cases, and serum samples were obtained at the same place and time.ResultsNo novel DNA or RNA viral signatures were confidently identified. Four affected twins and no unaffected twins evidenced viremia with GB virus C (8.9% vs. 0%, p = 0.019), and one affected twin had previously undetected hepatitis C viremia. An excess of GB virus C viremia in cases with chronic fatigue requires confirmation.ConclusionsCurrent, impairing chronic fatigue was not robustly associated with viremia detectable in serum.
Highlights
Chronic fatigue syndrome is an idiopathic syndrome widely suspected of having an infectious or immune etiology
Four affected twins and no unaffected twins evidenced viremia with GB virus C (8.9% vs. 0%, p = 0.019), and one affected twin had previously undetected hepatitis C viremia
Multiple studies have investigated the possible role of a range of specific viruses in Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) by searching for case-control differences in past or current viral infection [5]
Summary
Chronic fatigue syndrome is an idiopathic syndrome widely suspected of having an infectious or immune etiology. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterized by prolonged and impairing fatigue of unknown etiology [1,2]. Multiple studies have investigated the possible role of a range of specific viruses in CFS by searching for case-control differences in past or current viral infection (e.g., cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis C, human herpes virus-6, and parvovirus B19) [5]. The most recent example is xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) which was claimed to be present in 67% of cases with CFS and 3.7% of controls [8] but did not replicate in multiple independent samples [9]. A recent report found an association between a different retrovirus (murine leukemia virus) and CFS (87% of cases, 7% of controls) [10]. The status of any connection between XMRV and CFS is remains highly controversial [11]
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