CFS: Hit-and-run Injury To The Brain

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060301092926.htm

 

Source: University of New South Wales

Posted: March 1, 2006

 

Hit-and-run Injury To The Brain: New Evidence On Chronic Fatigue

Causation

 

A seven-year tracking study has prompted scientists to suggest that

chronic fatigue syndrome could be the result of brain injuries

inflicted during the early stages of glandular fever.

 

Australian researchers have put the suggestion in this week's

Journal of Infectious Diseases, which reveals new findings from

the 'Dubbo Infection Outcomes Study'. Since 1999, a team led by UNSW

Professor Andrew Lloyd have been tracking the long-term health of

individuals infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Ross River virus

(RRV) or Q fever infection. Their goal is to discover whether the

post-infection fatigue syndrome that may affect up to 100,000

Australians is caused by the persistence of EBV, a weakened immune

system, psychological vulnerability, or some combination of these.

 

Glandular fever -- sometimes called 'the kissing disease' -- is

caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Transmitted via saliva, its

acute symptoms include fever, sore throat, tiredness, and swollen

lymph glands. Most patients recover within several weeks but one in

ten young people will suffer prolonged symptoms, marked by fatigue.

When these symptoms persist in disabling degree for six months or

more, the illness may be diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome

(CFS).

 

The researchers followed the course of illness among 39 people

diagnosed with acute glandular fever. Eight patients developed

a 'post-infective fatigue syndrome' lasting six months or longer,

while the remaining 31 recovered uneventfully. Detailed studies of

the activity of the Epstein-Barr virus in the blood and the immune

response against the virus were conducted on blood samples collected

from each individual over 12 months.

 

Commenting on the findings, Professor Lloyd says: " Our findings

reveal that neither the virus nor an abnormal immune response

explain the post-infective fatigue syndrome. We now suspect it's

more like a hit and run injury to the brain.

 

" We believe that the parts of the brain that control perception of

fatigue and pain get damaged during the acute infection phase of

glandular fever. If you're still sick several weeks after infection,

it seems that the symptoms aren't being driven by the activity of

the virus in body, it's happening in the brain. "

 

The research team comprising scientists from the University of New

South Wales, the University of Sydney and the Queensland Institute

of Medical Research plan to test their 'brain injury' hypothesis by

doing neurological tests on the study participants.

 

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About the Dubbo Infection Outcomes Study: this is a major

prospective cohort study following individuals from the time of

onset of documented infection with Epstein-Barr virus (the cause of

glandular fever), Ross River virus (the mosquito-borne infection

which causes rash and joint pain) and Q fever (an infection common

in meatworkers and those exposed to livestock).

 

Research Paper:

'Prolonged illness after infectious mononucleosis is associated with

altered immunity but not with increased viral load', The Journal of

Infectious Diseases, vol. 193 (2006), pp 664-671. Authors: Barbara

Cameron, Mandvi Bharadwaj, Jacqueline Burrows, Chrysa Fazou, Denis

Wakefield, Ian Hickie, Rosemary French, Rajiv Khanna, Andrew Lloyd.

 

Funding:

The Dubbo Infection Outcomes Study is 82 per cent funded by the US

Centers for Disease Control. It also receives funding from the

National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.