In the 1980s, it was a mysterious syndrome called ‘yuppie flu’ when doctors thought it was ‘a purely psychiatric problem.’ Scientifically, its nomenclature is myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME. We simply know it as that debilitating result of too much physical, mental, and psychological stress. Today, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is linked to an ‘obscure retrovirus related to a group of viruses found to infect mice.’
The obscure virus is found to be present in two-thirds of chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers. ‘Some 67% of sufferers carried the virus, and 95% had antibodies for it, compared to just 4% in a control group.’
The research team behind the discovery believes that the real cause of chronic fatigue syndrome has finally been uncovered. The team also wants ‘to test the effects of anti-retroviral drugs in sufferers’ as well as ‘develop a vaccine against the virus to protect people from developing the condition.’
Lead researcher Dr. Judy Mikovits, director of research at the Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, Nevada, says, “This finding could be a major step in the discovery of vital treatment options for millions of patients. With those numbers, I would say yes, we’ve found the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. We also have data showing that the virus attacks the human immune system.”
The study is published in the journal Science. It shows that the virus named ‘murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV) was found in 68 of 101 patients from around the US with chronic fatigue syndrome. This compared with just eight of 218 healthy ‘controls’ drawn at random from the same parts of the US.’
Chronic fatigue syndrome is affecting an estimated 17 million people worldwide. Its symptoms include long-term tiredness and aching limbs that do not get eased with sleep or rest.
Via The Independent
