Question: Does XMRV Cause Fibromyalgia?
I heard something about XMRV being linked to fibromyalgia, but is it a cause? What do we know?
Answer:
In October 2009, preliminary research was published suggesting a high rate of XMRV infection in people with chronic fatigue syndrome. The study did not involve fibromyalgia at all. In a news release at the time of publication, researchers said they'd later tested a small number of blood samples from people with fibromyalgia and had found XMRV; however, the researchers said the sample was too small and the diagnostic criteria were too vague to draw any conclusions from the tests.
Since then, multiple studies have failed to replicate the findings of XMRV in chronic fatigue syndrome and some studies suggest the initial positive results may have been due to contamination. The XMRV theory has been largely abandoned.
