Does virus cause CFS?

A new study published in Science suggested that the virus XMRV that may play a role in prostate cancer has a strong link with ME, also known as CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). It was a case control study that looked for the presence of a retrovirus in the white blood cells of people with CFS.

Researchers compared blood samples from 101 patients with CFS with those from 218 people without. They found that the virus was present in the blood of 67% of the CFS patients, compared with 3.7% of the people without CFS. They also found that the virus XMRV could be transmitted to prostate cancer cells in laboratory experiments.

They concluded that XMRV may be a contributing factor in the develoment of CFS and suggested that the virus could be responsible for some of the abnormal immune response in CFS patients. However, larger studies are needed before any conclusions can be drawn.

Critics say this research has identified a link between XMRV virus and CFS but does not prove the virus causes CFS because it is not clear if the infection occured before the disease is developed. Other limitations of the study include small number of patients tested, there is no report on the characteristics of the healthy people whose blood samples were used and contamination of blood samples could not be ruled out completely. However, the findings would be of interests to patients and doctors.

Source:Vincent C. Lombardi 1, Francis W. Ruscetti et al "Detection of an Infectious Retrovirus, XMRV, in Blood Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" Published Online October 8, 2009 Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1179052 (subscription needed)

Electronic health records alone do not improve quality of care

A group of Stanford and Harvard researchers assessed the association between electronic health records (EHR) use and the quality of care in a national survey and were suprised to find that EHR use made no difference in 14 of the 17 ambulatory qulaity indicators. They expected better quality from physicians using EHRs.


In 2 quality areas : not prescribing tranquilizers for depression and not ordering routine urinalysis in general medical examinations - doctors using EHRs performed significantly better than those who did not. But in the area of prescribing statins for patients with high cholestrol, physicians using EHRs performed significantly worse than those who did not.

The researchers said sophisticated EHR systems can be a valuable tool for physicians in improving care in outpatient settings, but it is not sufficient to have an EHR system that provides patient data and decision support, physicians have to be willing to act on that input.

The study is published in the July 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. 2007;167:1400-1405 "Electronic health record use and the quality of ambulatory care in the United States" Read the abstract .

Read the press release.