Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 338, Issue 8769, 21 September 1991, Pages 707-712
The Lancet

ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Chronic fatigue syndrome: clinical condition associated with immune activation

https://doi.org/10.1016/0140-6736(91)91440-6Get rights and content

Abstract

There is much conflicting immunological and viral data about the causes of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS); some findings support the notion that CFS may be due to one or more immune disorders that have resulted from exposure to an infectious agent. In the present study, flow cytometry and several different monoclonal antibodies recognising T, B, and natural killer (NK) cell populations as well as activation and cell adhesion antigens were used to study 147 individuals with CFS. Compared with healthy controls, a reduced CD8 suppressor cell population and increased activation markers (CD38, HLA-DR) on CD8 cells were found. The differences were significant (p=0·01) in patients with major symptoms of the disease. These immunological indices were not observed in 80 healthy individuals, in 22 contacts of CFS patients, or in 43 patients with other diseases. No correlation of these findings in CFS patients with any known human viruses could be detected by serology. The findings suggest that immune activation is associated with many cases of CFS.

References (34)

  • Lc Archard et al.

    Post viral fatigue syndrome: persistence of enterovirus RNA in muscle and elevated creatinine kinase

    J R Soc Med

    (1988)
  • Na Miller et al.

    Antibody to Coxsackie B virus in diagnosing postviral fatigue syndrome

    Br Med J

    (1991)
  • E. DeFreitas et al.

    Retroviral sequences related to HTLVII in patients with chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome

    Proc Natl Acad Sci

    (1991)
  • R. Kibler et al.

    Immune function in chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection

    J Clin Immunol

    (1985)
  • G. Tosato et al.

    Characteristic T cell dysfunction in patients with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection (chronic infectious mononucleosis)

    J Immunol

    (1985)
  • M. Caligiuri et al.

    Phenotypic and functional deficiency of natural killer cells in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

    J Immunol

    (1987)
  • Cited by (318)

    • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

      2017, Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases
    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text