New energy for CFS

After years of extensive searching by multiple researchers for a biological cause for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) - also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) - a group led by Columbia University researchers has found a hint that there could be an infectious basis for the condition, which is often ascribed to depression.

Mady Hornig, principal investigator on the study, told BioCentury that changes her team detected in cytokine levels in CFS patients parallel changes seen in some types of infection. "We anticipate that more than one microbe is likely to be associated with the disease in different patients," she said. Hornig is director of translational research at the Center for Infection and Immunity and associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center...