Schooley, R T · Current clinical topics in infectious diseases · 1988
This 1988 editorial discusses whether Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a common virus that causes mononucleosis, might be responsible for causing chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The author examines the connection between EBV infection and the development of long-lasting fatigue and other symptoms that characterize this illness.
This editorial represents important historical context for understanding how early ME/CFS research explored viral triggers as a disease mechanism. The EBV hypothesis was influential in shaping early patient recognition and clinical investigations, making this a significant reference point in the evolution of ME/CFS scientific understanding.
As an editorial opinion piece rather than a research study, this does not establish causal relationships between EBV and ME/CFS, nor does it present original data. It cannot definitively prove EBV causes ME/CFS, and subsequent research has shown the relationship is more complex than initially theorized—many patients develop ME/CFS without EBV reactivation, and EBV reactivation occurs in many people without causing ME/CFS.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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