Amy Dockser Marcus has been following recent events related to the retrovirus XMRV, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and prostate cancer.
"Earlier this month, CDC researchers published a paper in Retrovirology that reported the absence of XMRV in either the CFS patients studied or healthy controls. A much-anticipated study by researchers from the FDA and NIH supposedly reached a different conclusion, finding the virus in the blood of CFS patients. It’s expected to run in the journal PNAS but has yet to be published."
Vincent Racaniello is a professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University who participated in a webinar sponsored by the advocacy group CFIDS Association of America. He said that much work remains to be done, and that learning about XMRV and how it may affect patients will take time.
Major academic centers and more scientists are bringing more interest and attention to chronic fatigue syndrome. Continued research will eventually bring the truth about this disease to light.
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/07/15/potential-xmrv-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-link-not-easy-to-tease-out