Scottish scientists 'prove' that ME exists and may be caused by virus

Published on Tuesday 7 September 2010 17:43

SCOTTISH scientists have found new evidence that the debilitating condition ME could by caused by a virus.

• Case study: Thomas Winski was struck down at age 12 Picture: Ian Georgeson

Researchers at the University of Dundee found abnormalities in the white blood cells of children with ME - myalgic encephalomyelitis - which suggested they had been fighting off an infection.

The findings confirm previous research showing signs of infection in adults with ME, which causes severe fatigue and other serious symptoms including muscle weakness.

Campaigners said the findings should help dispel scepticism by some health workers who fail to acknowledge the existence of ME as a physical condition.

For the latest study - published in the journal Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine - 25 young people from across the UK, aged 10 to 18 and suffering from ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, were compared with 23 youngsters of a similar age in a control group.

The ME group had higher levels of free radicals, which are molecules which can damage cells, tissue and organs in a process known as oxidative stress.

The researchers also found a higher number of neutrophils - the most common type of white blood cells - which were at the end of their life cycle. A high turnover of these types of cell indicate the body's need to fight infection.

Increased oxidative stress can occur for a number of reasons, such as a lack of vitamins in the diet. But it can also happen when white blood cells are chronically stimulated by an infection. Dr Gwen Kennedy, who led the team at Dundee, said the results were of "great importance".

Professor Jill Belch, from Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, where the study took place, added: "The findings are those commonly seen when somebody has a virus or an infection. For example, if you have a virus or a bacteria, your white blood cell will swallow the particle and then release chemicals to kill it.

"What we found was an increased amount of these killer chemicals and the white blood cells don't last as long, which is a sign that they've been very active. So this is a definite physical sign of ill-health."

ME affects between 120,000 and 240,000 people in the UK .

Prof Belch said scepticism about ME could be down to the difficulties in finding a physical abnormality causing the disease.

"It is very difficult if somebody goes in, they are very fatigued but they really have no other physical signs or blood tests that are abnormal," she said. "The trouble is, once you are socially isolated, you lose your friends, you become depressed and it does look to some doctors as if it is a psychological disease."

Dr Neil Abbot, from ME Research UK, which part-funded the research, said: "Although the cause of ME is unknown, more than half of all patients say their illness started with an infection.

"It is, therefore, fascinating to discover evidence of a persistent or reactivating viral infection.

"The study undoubtedly adds greater scientific weight to the existence of a condition which, sadly, many still fail to acknowledge in spite of its severity."

Jane Colby, of the Young ME Sufferers (Tymes Trust), said: "The medical profession must now take the consequences of ME in children seriously. Children with ME are too often treated with scepticism and even denied their right to suitable education and other support."

Case study

Thomas Winski has returned to education and is now studying psychology Picture: Ian Georgeson

Thomas Winski started suffering from ME when he was just 12, after being infected with septicemia and glandular fever.

"I was just not recovering. I was out of hospital and back home, but I was just in bed and not doing anything and even struggling to get to the toilet," he said.

Mr Winski, from Dunfermline, tried to return to school but was too tired and ended up missing a lot of classes.

After trying to get a diagnosis for several months, he was finally referred to a specialist who diagnosed ME.

He spent the next ten years trying to cope with the symptoms of the condition, including sleep deprivation. "I managed to get Highers somehow but I was at school about 30 per cent of the time and I repeated a year," he said.

Mr Winski finally got help through a technique known as the Lightning Process, which helps sufferers learn to overcome how ME is affecting them.

Now 23, he is in his second year at Heriot-Watt University.