ME/CFS Linked to Protein from Common Smoldering Virus

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SOURCE: HHV-6 Foundation

 

 

 

 

Jun 23, 2008 10:26 ETA

 

 

Protein from a Common Smoldering Virus Linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

and Depression

 

 

A Twenty-Year Search by a Top Japanese Virologist Has Led to the Discovery

That Protein From the Quiet Smoldering of a Common Virus Can Cause Central

Nervous System Disease and Mood Disorders

 

 

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BALTIMORE, MD--(Marketwire - June 23, 2008) -

 

 

A study suggests that a " smoldering " central nervous system (CNS) infection

may play a role in conditions that plague millions of Americans. Kazuhiro

Kondo, MD, PhD, of the Jikei University Medical School in Tokyo identified a

novel human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) protein present in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

(CFS) patients but not healthy controls that may contribute to psychological

symptoms often associated with that and other disorders.

 

 

" Causes of many chronic diseases are unknown and chronic viral infection is

one of the most suspected candidates, " said Dr. Kondo, who spent 20 years

trying to identify the latent protein responsible for chronic CNS disease and

mood disorders.

 

Support for Dr. Kondo's claim came from Stanford University's Jose Montoya

who announced at the same conference that the antiviral drug Valcyte, shown to

be effective against HHV-6, resulted in an improvement in the cognitive

functioning of CFS patients, although not a complete resolution of their

fatigue.

According to Dr. Kondo, drugs like Valcyte combat active replication but

can't completely control low-level smoldering. " To cure the diseases, we have

to

reduce the latently infected virus or prevent its reactivation, " he

explains.

 

 

A Debilitating Disorder

 

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a debilitating disorder affecting one to four

million Americans and causing 25 billion dollars a year in economic losses. The

primary symptoms include post-exertional malaise, fatigue, difficulty

concentrating, unrefreshing sleep, muscle and joint pain. High rates of

depression

co-occur with the disease.

 

Mostly striking, in working-age adults, the disease is often triggered by a

flu-like episode. Efforts to find a single pathogen responsible for the

disease have, however, failed and the cause of the disorder is unknown.

 

 

Novel Herpesvirus Protein is Associated with Altered Nervous System Cell

Activity and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Depression

 

Kondo identified a novel HHV-6 protein associated with latent

(non-replicating) HHV-6-infected nervous system and immune cells. Transfecting

this new

protein, called SITH-1 (Small Intermediate Stage Transcript of HHV-6), into

nervous system cells called glial cells, resulted in greatly increased

intracellular calcium levels. Increased intracellular calcium levels are

believed to

play an important role in psychological disorders and can contribute to cell

death. Expressing the SITH protein though the use of an adenoviral vector in

mouse resulted in manic-like behavior.

 

A serological study indicated that 71% of CFS patients with psychological

symptoms and none of the health controls possessed the antibody against the

SITH-1 protein (p < .0001). Further tests indicated that 53% of depression and

76% of bipolar depression patients possessed the antibody.

 

 

Traditional Viral Tests May Overlook Important Disease Causing Processes

 

Researchers have suspected that central nervous system infections could

contribute to psychological and central nervous system disorders, and patients

with CFS have a much higher than average rate of depression. This virus spreads

cell-to-cell instead of releasing viral particles into the bloodstream. This

has hampered efforts to demonstrate that the virus plays a role in CNS

disease. " This virus persists in the brain and other tissues, but not the

blood,

which is where investigators have looked, " says Kristin Loomis, Executive of the HHV-6 Foundation.

 

" Indeed, standard serum PCR DNA for direct evidence of the virus are

useless, " she added. New ultra-sensitive assays are under development, she

reports,

" but currently the best way to identify patients with smoldering HHV-6

infection is to look for elevated IgG antibody titers. "

 

Dharam Ablashi, the co-discoverer of the HHV-6 virus, and the HHV-6

Foundation's Scientific Director warns that the test won't be available in the

near

future. " It may take years to get the assay validated and into commercial

production, but will be worth the wait. This assay could identify large numbers

of patients with CNS dysfunction who could benefit from antiviral treatment.

The HHV-6 Foundation is working hard to help scientists like Dr. Kondo develop

better assays, " says Ablashi.

 

 

 

The HHV-6 Foundation

 

The HHV-6 Foundation encourages scientific exchanges and provides grants to

researchers seeking to increase our understanding of HHV-6 infection in a

wide array of central nervous system disorders.

 

 

 

Contact:

Kristin Loomis Executive Director HHV-6 Foundation Phone: 805-969-1174

_http://www.hhv-6foundation.org/_ (http://www.hhv-6foundation.org/)

 

 

 

 

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