Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0015674 (chronic fatigue syndrome)
 2,978 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Partial sequencing was performed on cloned DNA obtained from cultures of a stealth virus isolated from a patient with the chronic fatigue syndrome. The results extend earlier findings showing regions of homology to cytomegalovirus (CMV). Although the virus is much more closely related to simian CMV than to human CMV, many of the cloned viral segments could be aligned with the human CMV genome. The aggregate size of the aligned segments exceeds 100 kilobase pairs (kbp). Undigested viral DNA has a mobility in agarose gel electrophoresis corresponding to approximately 20 kbp. The virus, therefore, apparently exists in multiple fragments. Considerable sequence variation exists between individual clones which overlap to similar regions of the human CMV genome. The fragmented genome and sequence microheterogeneity suggest that both the processivity and the fidelity of replication of the viral genome are defective. An unstable viral genome may provide a potential mechanism of recovery from stealth viral illness.
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PMID:Genetic instability and fragmentation of a stealth viral genome. 885 90

A cytopathic 'stealth' virus was cultured from the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with a bipolar psychotic disorder who developed a severe encephalopathy leading to a vegetative state. DNA sequencing of a polymerase chain reaction-amplified product from infected cultures has identified the virus as an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus (SCMV)-related stealth virus. The virus is similar to the SCMV-related stealth virus isolated from a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome. The findings support the concepts that stealth viruses can account for a spectrum of dysfunctional brain diseases and that some of these viruses may have arisen from live polio viral vaccines.
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PMID:Simian cytomegalovirus-related stealth virus isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with bipolar psychosis and acute encephalopathy. 888 70

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an illness characterized by disabling fatigue associated with complaints of fevers, sore throat, myalgia, lymphadenopathy, sleep disturbances, neurocognitive difficulties, and depression. A striking feature of CFS is its sudden onset following an acute, presumably viral, illness and the subsequent recurrent "flu-like" symptoms. It has been speculated that both CFS and debilitating chronic fatigue (CF) that does not meet strict criteria for CFS may be the direct or indirect result of viral infections. We therefore tested 548 chronically fatigued patients who underwent a comprehensive medical and psychiatric evaluation for antibodies to 13 viruses. Our objectives were to compare the seroprevalence and/or geometric mean titer (GMT) of antibodies to herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, rubella, adenovirus, human herpesvirus 6, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and Cox-sackie B virus, types 1-6 in patients with CF to healthy control subjects. Other goals were to determine if greater rates of seropositivity or higher GMTs occurred among subsets of patients with CFS, fibromyalgia, psychiatric disorders, a self-reported illness onset with a viral syndrome, and a documented temperature > 37 degrees C on physical examination. Differences in the seroprevalence or GMTs of antibodies to 13 viruses were not consistently found in those with CF compared with control subjects, or in any subsets of patients including those with CFS, an acute onset of illness, or a documented fever. These particular viral serologies were not useful in evaluating patients presenting with CF.
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PMID:Viral serologies in patients with chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. 889 37

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by severe prolonged unexplained fatigue and a variety of associated symptoms such as arthralgias, myalgias, cognitive dysfunction, and severe sleep disturbances. Many patients initially present with an acute onset of apparent infectious origin with either an upper respiratory or gastrointestinal illness, fever, chills, tender lymphadenopathy, and malaise suggestive of a flu-like illness. In some cases, specific viral infections can be identified at the outset, particularly herpes viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6), and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Transfer factors (TF) with specific activity against these herpes viruses has been documented. With some studies suggesting that persistent viral activity may play a role in perpetuation of CFS symptoms, there appears to be a rationale for the use of TF in patients with CFS and recent reports have suggested that transfer factor may play a beneficial role in this disorder. This report focuses on the heterogeneity of CFS, the necessity for randomized coded studies, the importance of patient selection and sub-classification in clinical trials, and the need to utilize specific end-points for determining efficacy of treatment.
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PMID:The use of transfer factors in chronic fatigue syndrome: prospects and problems. 899 62

A group of 222 patients suffering from cellular immunodeficiency (CID), frequently combined with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and/or chronic viral infections by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and/or cytomegalovirus (CMV), were immunologically investigated and treated with transfer factor (TF). The age range was 17-77 years. In order to elucidate the influence of aging on the course of the disease and on treatment, 3 subgroups were formed: 17-43 years, 44-53 years, and 54-77 years. Six injections of Immodin (commercial preparation of TF by SEVAC, Prague) were given in the course of 8 weeks. When active viral infection was present, IgG injections and vitamins were added. Immunological investigation was performed before the start of therapy, and subsequently according to need, but not later than after 3 months. The percentages of failures to improve clinical status of patients were in the individual subgroups, respectively: 10.6%, 11.5% and 28.9%. The influence of increasing age on the percentage of failures to normalize low numbers of T cells was very evident: 10.6%, 21.2% and 59.6%. In individuals uneffected by therapy, persistent absolute lymphocyte numbers below 1,200 cells were found in 23.1%, 54.5% and 89.3% in the oldest group. Statistical analysis by Pearson's Chi-square test, and the test for linear trend proved that the differences among the individual age groups were significant. Neither sex, nor other factors seemed to influence the results. The results of this pilot study show that age substantially influences the failure rate of CID treatment using TF. In older people, it is easier to improve the clinical condition than CID: this may be related to the diminished number of lymphocytes, however, a placebo effect cannot be totally excluded.
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PMID:The influence of age on transfer factor treatment of cellular immunodeficiency, chronic fatigue syndrome and/or chronic viral infections. 899 65

A cytopathic stealth virus was cultured from the cerebrospinal fluid of a nurse with chronic fatigue syndrome. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) performed on the patient's culture yielded positive results with primer sets based on sequences of a previously isolated African green monkey simian-cytomegalovirus-derived stealth virus. The same primer sets did not yield PCR products when tested directly on DNA extracted from the cultures. The findings lend support to the possibility of replicative RNA forms of certain stealth viruses and have important implications concerning the choice of therapy in this type of patient.
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PMID:Detection of RNA sequences in cultures of a stealth virus isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of a health care worker with chronic fatigue syndrome. Case report. 920 Jan 91

Structures consistent in size, shape and character with various stages of a Lentivirus replicative cycle were observed by electron microscopy in 12-day peripheral-blood lymphocyte cultures from 10 of 17 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients and not in controls. Attempts to identify a lymphoid phenotype containing these structures by immunogold labelling failed and the results of reverse-transcriptase assay of culture supernatants were equivocal. The study was blind and case-controlled, patients being paired with age, sex and ethnically matched healthy volunteers. Prescreening of subjects included the common metabolic and immunological disorders, functional conditions and a virus-screen against hepatitis B and C, Epstein-Barr Virus, Cytomegalovirus and Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
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PMID:Electron microscopic immunocytological profiles in chronic fatigue syndrome. 920 53

Cloned DNA obtained from the culture of an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus-derived stealth virus contains multiple discrete regions of significant sequence homology (p values ranging from 4 x 10(-3) to 1 x 10(-20)) to portions of known human cellular genes. The stealth virus was cultured from a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Earlier studies had revealed considerable sequence heterogeneity within DNA fragments isolated from virus-infected cells. A set of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers generated different PCR products when tested on stealth virus cultures from 4 patients with CFS. Several of the PCR products also contain regions of significant partial homology to distinct cellular sequences, including sequences repetitively expressed throughout the cellular genome. Stealth viruses may play an important role in the origins and in the genetic diversity of both viral and cellular sequences.
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PMID:Cellular sequences in stealth viruses. 964 27

We have conducted a double-blind study to assess the possible involvement of the human herpesviruses (HHVs) HHV6, HHV7, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and cytomegalovirus in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients compared to age-, race-, and gender-matched controls. The CFS patient population was composed of rigorously screened civilian and Persian Gulf War veterans meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's CFS case definition criteria. Healthy control civilian and veteran populations had no evidence of CFS or any other exclusionary medical or psychiatric condition. Patient peripheral blood mononuclear cells were analyzed by PCR for the presence of these HHVs. Using two-tailed Fisher's exact test analyses, we were unable to ascertain any statistically significant differences between the CFS patient and control populations in terms of the detection of one or more of these viruses. This observation was upheld when the CFS populations were further stratified with regard to the presence or absence of major axis I psychopathology and patient self-reported gradual versus acute onset of disease. In tandem, we performed serological analyses of serum anti-EBV and anti-HHV6 antibody titers and found no significant differences between the CFS and control patients.
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PMID:Human herpesviruses in chronic fatigue syndrome. 1006 57

DNA extracted from cultures of a cytopathic virus isolated from a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome was cloned into pBluescript plasmid. The nucleotide sequences of the plasmid inserts were analyzed using the BlastN and BlastX programs of the National Center for Biotechnology Information. In confirmation of earlier studies, many of the sequences show partial homology to various regions within the genome of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). The matching regions were unevenly distributed throughout the HCMV genome. No matches were seen with either the UL55 or the UL83 genes, which provide the major antigenic targets for anti-HCMV cytotoxic T-cell-mediated immunity. This finding is consistent with the notion that certain viruses can avoid immune elimination by deleting genes required for effective antigenic recognition by the cellular immune system. The term "stealth" has been applied to such viruses. Comparisons were also made between the sequences of the stealth virus and the limited sequence data available on cytomegaloviruses from rhesus monkeys and from African green monkeys. These comparisons unequivocally establish that the virus was derived from an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus.
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PMID:Stealth adaptation of an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus. 1033 58


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