The studyreleased by the Whittemore Peterson Institute found that two thirds of chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients were carrying a recently discovered retrovirus called XMRV that is associated with severe cases of prostate cancer. They were lead to this discovery by the fact that both chronic fatigue syndrome and prostrate cancer patients often have a dysfunction in an important immune enzyme called RNase L. When they looked at the ME/CFS patients they were astonished to find that most of them carried the virus as well.
In fact the prevalence of this virus in ME/CFS may have been understated. In telephone calls Dr. Mikovits reported that the WPI was finding antibodies to the retrovirus in fully 95% of their ME/CFS samples. The fact that the few fibromyalgia patients tested also tested positive for the virus suggests that it may be found in other neuro- immune diseases and the WPI will be testing that possibility.