Wittrup, I H, Christensen, L S, Jensen, B et al. · Scandinavian journal of rheumatology · 2000 · DOI
Researchers tested 18 patients with fibromyalgia (a condition causing widespread pain and fatigue) to see if they had a virus called Borna disease virus (BDV). This virus affects animals and had been suggested as a possible cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. The tests came back negative—BDV was not found in any of the patients' blood or spinal fluid samples.
Given the shared neurological and immunological features between fibromyalgia and ME/CFS, negative findings about potential viral triggers in one condition may inform understanding of the other. This study contributes to the body of evidence evaluating viral hypotheses in post-viral fatigue and pain syndromes.
A negative PCR result does not exclude BDV involvement in ME/CFS or fibromyalgia—the virus may be present in other tissues, at levels below detection threshold, or only during acute infection. This study does not establish whether BDV plays any role (or lack thereof) in disease pathogenesis. Absence of detection in these 18 patients cannot rule out BDV as a factor in larger or differently-selected populations.
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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