Journal retracts paper on chronic fatigue syndrome

A scientific paper embraced by many chronic fatigue syndrome patients as a ray of hope is being retracted by the journal that published it after a tumultuous year that included allegations of data manipulation and the arrest of the study's lead researcher on a felony charge of possessing stolen property.

In the paper, published in 2009 by the journal Science, researchers reported they had found evidence of a retrovirus called XMRV in the blood of patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome much more frequently than in the blood of healthy peers. The paper caused a stir and led other scientists to try to confirm the findings.

Patients rejoiced at the possibility of an explanation for their illness, which has long confounded researchers. Some patients even began taking antiretroviral drugs designed to treat a different retrovirus, HIV.

At the same time, the paper's lead researcher, Judy Mikovits, then employed at the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease in Reno, began linking XMRV to other frustrating disorders, including autism and Gulf War syndrome, without publishing data to support her statements.

Soon, independent teams of scientists began reporting they could not find evidence of the retrovirus in the blood of chronic fatigue patients or anyone else. Researchers hypothesized that lab contamination could have caused the original findings. Mikovits denied it.

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source article: latimes.com
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