Rusmevichientong, Alice, Chow, Samson A · Immunologic research · 2010 · DOI
Scientists discovered a new virus called XMRV and found it in some people with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This review article summarizes what was known about this virus at the time, how it might work in the body, and what still needs to be studied to understand whether XMRV actually causes disease in humans.
This review was important because it highlighted a potential infectious agent in ME/CFS at a time when the field lacked clear disease mechanisms. Establishing whether infectious agents contribute to ME/CFS could reshape diagnosis and treatment approaches for patients seeking answers about their condition.
This review does not prove that XMRV causes ME/CFS or prostate cancer. The detection of XMRV in some healthy individuals indicates that infection alone is insufficient to cause disease, and the varying detection frequencies across studies suggest technical or biological complexities that were not yet resolved. The authors explicitly state that an etiologic link has not been established.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Rusmevichientong, Alice & Chow, Samson A (2010). Biology and pathophysiology of the new human retrovirus XMRV and its association with human disease.. Immunologic research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-010-8165-y
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-rusmevichientong-2010-biology-pathophysiology,
author = {Rusmevichientong, Alice and Chow, Samson A},
title = {Biology and pathophysiology of the new human retrovirus XMRV and its association with human disease.},
journal = {Immunologic research},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1007/s12026-010-8165-y},
note = {PubMed: 20717743},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rusmevichientong-2010-biology-pathophysiology},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rusmevichientong-2010-biology-pathophysiology
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