Search for Borna disease virus in Danish fibromyalgia patients

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to look for Borna disease virus (BDV) in 18 patients with acute onset of fibromyalgia (FMS) following a "flu-like" episode. BDV is a neurotropic RNA virus affecting horses and sheep. Infections in animals have been reported to cause immune mediated disease characterized by abnormalities in behavior. A possible link between BDV and neuropsychiatric diseases in man has been described, and lately a connection to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has been suggested. METHODS: A BDV-specific nested PCR (RT-PCR) was performed on serum and spinal fluid. RESULTS: The BDV genome was not detected in any of the FMS cases. CONCLUSION: Although BDV was not demonstrated in spinal fluid or serum from the tested patients with FMS, we believe that it is important to report our results, since FMS can exhibit many manifestations in common with CFS. Possible reasons for the discrepant findings are discussed.