New Research

Many people with chronic illness are delighted to see news stories about this newly-released scientific study: http://www.wpinstitute.org/xmrv/index.html. It's about a retrovirus called XMRV that has been discovered in most of the subjects tested who have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and similar conditions. Of course it will take time to see if anti-viral medications can cure those diseases, but at last there is hope.

Since the same virus has also been found in people with certain kinds of cancer, it's possible that XMRV is not the cause of the diseases but simply takes advantage of damaged immune systems. But even that is helpful for people with CFS/ME and FM since it proves those illnesses are real and not just psychosomatic. It's hard enough to live with debilitating chronic illness without being told "It's all in your head" and having to struggle to find a medical practitioner who believes you're really sick.