■ “X-associated neuroimmune disease” — this is the name given to chronic fatigue syndrome by Dr. Judy Mikovits, whose recent findings suggest a link between the oft-stigmatized illness, certain types of lymphomas and leukemias, and a recentl y identified virus called xenotropic murine leukemia virus–related virus, or XMRV.
__ XMRV, discovered in 2006 during a study of prostate tumors, is a gammaretrovirus, a strain of contagion historically associated with animals. In animals, its effects include neurological problems, immune deficiency, and the onset of lymphoma or leukemia. Working under the umbrella of the privately funded Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, Nevada, Dr. Mikovits proposes that XMRV is the third identified human gammaretrovirus, one of a small but alarming group that includes HIV. Though its means of transmission is not yet understood, XMRV infection is permanent.
__ The causes and symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome have been debated for years—and even, in a recent study by the Center for Disease Control, linked to childhood trauma or sexual abuse. It manifests itself initially through flu-like symptoms—fever, headaches, and sore throat—which can eventually give rise to pronounced memory loss and an inability to follow normal conversation.
__ Among the initial cluster of patients who came down with the disease in 1984 near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, many carried several viruses at once. At the time, investigators with the CDC believed that the exhaustion they encountered in these patients was likely caused by personality disorders.
__ That may change now, reducing the stigma for some of those suffering with this disease. In collaboration with the National Cancer Institute and the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Mikovits’ study found XMRV present in 67% of 101 patients suffering from CFS. Furthermore, live or replicating XMRV was found in both frozen and fresh blood samples, as well as in saliva samples, of persons known to have CFS dating back to 1984.
__ Quoted recently in The New York Times, Dr. Nancy Klimas, an immunologist who works with AIDS and CFS patients at the University of Miami School of Medicine, differentiates the two diseases as follows: “My HIV patients for the most part are hale and hearty. Many of my CFS patients, on the other hand, are terribly ill and unable to work or participate in the care of their families.”
__ Estimates place the number of Americans seriously affected by the disease at more than one million. bw
