26 February 2010
Researchers from Nijmegen, Netherlands, “cast doubt on the claim that XMRV is associated with chronic fatigue syndrome in the majority of patients.”
The latest study, published in the British Medical Journal, involved testing cryopreserved (frozen) cells collected from 32 patients between December 1991 and April 1992 plus 43 controls.
The news comes just a few days after UK research published in the journal Retrovirology found no link between XMRV and CFS in blood and serum samples from 170 CFS patients and 395 healthy controls.
Action for M.E. awaits further statements from the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI), Reno, which first identified the link last year.
Meanwhile, we are continuing to fund the UK's M.E. tissue bank feasibility project and the CFS/ME National Outcomes Database research as they move into the second stages of their work.
We also look forward to hearing the findings of the Medical Research Council's (MRC's) workshop, held in November, when we attend the next meeting of the MRC Expert Group on 1 March.
