CFS Linked to Genes

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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Linked to Genes, Study Says (Update1)

By Simeon

July 5 (Bloomberg) -- Scientists in Australia identified 35 genes linked to chronic fatigue syndrome, helping narrow the focus of research on a little-understood condition affecting more than a million people in the U.S. alone.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney screened 30,000 genes in blood samples from 15 people known to have had infectious mononucleosis, which can lead to chronic fatigue. Thirty-five of those genes were expressed differently in those who recovered promptly from the illness to those who went on to suffer months of physical and or mental weakness.

``It's definitely plausible that one of these genes, or maybe more than one of these genes, will be the key'' to understanding chronic fatigue, said Lloyd, professor of infectious diseases at the university's Centre for Infection and Inflammation Research, which led the study.

The findings add to scientific evidence of the existence of a distinct syndrome separate from mood disorders or depression. No cause has been identified for the illness, which costs $9.1 billion a year in lost productivity in the U.S., according to a 2004 study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Previous studies ruled out persistent infection and immune deficiencies as causes of chronic fatigue, Lloyd said. The research, published today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, suggests the brain may play a more important role in the disease than muscles, he said.

Concentration Lapses

Some of the 35 identified genes were linked to specific symptoms, including fatigue and pain, Lloyd said. Other symptoms, including concentration lapses, memory loss and sullenness, didn't appear to be linked to a specific gene, he said.

Until the mid 1990s, so little was known about the makeup of chronic fatigue that some medical authorities questioned its legitimacy as an illness. The potentially disabling disorder occurs most frequently in women 40 to 60 years old.

There are no physical signs that identify the syndrome and no laboratory tests that can diagnose it, according to the CDC.

Since there is no known cure, treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms and improving function. Specific treatments are probably years away, Lloyd said.

His team of researchers will extend their investigation to determine whether the same genes may be associated with chronic fatigue following bouts of infections such as Ross River virus and Q fever. Infectious mononucleosis is known as glandular fever in Australia and the U.K.

Sexual Abuse

Emotional, physical or sexual abuse or neglect in childhood may also be linked to chronic fatigue, according to a separate study published in November in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That study found patients with the condition had a higher incidence of traumatic childhood events than non-sufferers.

Earlier research by the CDC showed chronic fatigue is marked by physical changes that can be identified with medical tests, not just by how a patient feels. The study, published in April last year, found subtle disturbances in blood-related genes, as well as the central nervous and immune systems in chronic fatigue sufferers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon in Singapore at sbennett9@... .

Last Updated: July 5, 2007 00:46 EDT