Letter to the Editor

References

• Behan, P.O. and Bakheit, A.M.O. (1991 ) “Clinical spectrum of postviral fatigue syndrome”, British Medical Bulletin 47, 793–808.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bell, E.J., McCartney, R.A. and Riding, M.H. (1988 ) “Coxsackie B viruses and myalgic encephalomyeltitis”, Journal of the Royal Society Medicine 81, 329 –331.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• De Meirleir, K., Bisbal, C., Campine, I., De Becker, P., Salehzada, T., Demettre, E. and Lebleu, B. (2000 ) “A 37kDa 2–5A binding protein as a potential biochemical marker for chronic fatigue syndrome”, American Journal of Medicine 108, 99–105.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Demettre, E., Bastide, L., D’Haese, A., De Smet, K., De Meirleir, K., Tiev, K.P., Engelbienne, P. and Lebleu, B. (2002 ) “Ribonuclease L proteolysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of chronic fatigue syndrome patients”, Journal of Biological Chemistry 277, 35746–35751.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Englebienne, P., Fremont, M., Vaeyens, F., Herst, V., Verhas, M., De Becker, P. and De Meirleir, K. (2001) “Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) as subsets of a group of cellular immunity disorders”, ME/CFS: The medical practitioners’ challenge, Proceedings at Sydney International Conference, 35–42.
   Google Scholar
• Fukuda, K., Strauss, S.E., Hickie, I., Sharpe, M.C., Dobbins, J.G., Komaroff, A. and the International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Study Group (1994) “The chronic fatigue syndrome, a comprehensive approach to its definition and study”, Annals of Internal Medicine 121, 953–959.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fulle, S., Mecocci, P., Fano, G., Vecchiet, I., Vecchini, A., Racciotti, D., Cherubini, A., Pizzigallo, E., Vecchiet, L., Senin, U. and Beal, M.F. (2000 ) “Specific oxidative alterations in vastus lateralis muscle of patients with the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome”, Free Radical Biology & Medicine 20,1252–1259.
   Google Scholar
• Hickie, I., Lloyd, A. and Wakefield, D. (1995 ) “Chronic fatigue syndrome: current perspectives on evaluation and management”, Medical Journal of Australia 163, 314–318.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kurup, R.K. and Kurup, P.A. (2003 ) “Hypothalamic digoxin, cerebral chemical dominance and myalgic encephalomyelitis”, International Journal of Neuroscience 113, 683–701.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Levy, J. (1994 ) “Viral studies of chronic fatigue syndrome, introduction”, Clinical Infectious Diseases 18, S117.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Liu, Z., Wang, D., Xue, Q., Chen, J., Li, Y., Bai, X. and Chang, L. (2003 ) “Determination of fatty acid levels in eythrocyte membranes of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome”, Nutritional Neuroscience 6, 389–392.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mannick, J.B., Asano, K., Izumi, K., Kieff, E. and Stamler, J.S. (1994 ) “Nitric oxide produced by human B lymphocytes inhibits apoptosis and Epstein-Barr virus reactivation”, Cell 79, 1137–1146.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nasralla, M., Haier, J. and Nicolson, G.L. (1999 ) “Multiple mycoplasmal infections detected in blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome”, European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 18, 859–865.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nijs, J., Nicolson, G.L., De Becker, P., Coomans, D. and De Meirleir, K. (2002) “High prevalence of Mycoplasma infections among European chronic fatigue syndrome patients. Examination of four Mycoplasma species in blood of chronic fatigue syndrome patients”, FEMS Immunology Medical Micriobiology 34, 209–214.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pall, M.L. and Satterle, J.D. (2001 ) “Elevated nitric oxide/ peroxynitrite mechanism for the common etiology of multiple chemical sensitivity, chronic fatigue syndrome, and posttraumatic stress disorder”, Annals of the New York Acadamy of Science 933, 323 –329.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Piec, G., Mirkovitch, J., Palacio, S., Mühlradt, P.F. and Felix, R. (1999) “Effect of MALP-2, a lipopeptide from Mycoplasma fermentans, on bone resorption in vitro”, Infection and Immunology 67, 6281–6285.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rawadi, G. (2000 ) “Mycoplasma fermentans interaction with monocytes/macrophages: molecular basis”, Microbes and Infection 2, 955–964.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Richards, R.S., Roberts, T.K., McGregor, N.R., Dunstan, R.H. and Butt, H.L. (2000 ) “Blood parameters indicative of oxidative stress are associated with symptom expression in chronic fatigue syndrome”, Redox Report: Communication in Free Radical Research 5, 35–41.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sharpe, M.C., Archard, L.C., Banatvala, J.E., Borysiewicz, L.K., Clare, A.W., David, A., Edwards, R.H.T., Hawton, K.E.H., Lambert, H.P., Lane, R.J.M., McDonald, E.M., Mowbray, J.F., Pearson, D.J., Peto, T.E.A., Preedy, V.R., Smith, A.P., Smith, D.G., Taylor, D.J., Tyrell, S.A.J., Wessely, S. and White, P.D. (1991 ) “A report: chronic fatigue syndrome: guidelines for research”, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 84, 118–121.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Strauss, S.E. (1998) “Chronic fatigue syndrome”, In: Fauci, A.S., Braunwald, E., Isselbacker, K.J., Wilson, J.D., Martin, J.B., Kasper, D.L., Hauser, S.L., Longo, D.L. (eds) Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 14th Ed., New York: McGraw- Hill Vol. 2, pp 2483–2485.
   Google Scholar
• Suhadolnik, R.J., Reichenbach, N.L., Hitzges, P., Sobol, R.W., Peterson, D.L., Henry, B., Ablashi, D.V., Müller, W.E.G., Schroder, H.C., Carter, A.W. and Strayer, D.R. (1994 ) “Upregulation of the 2–5A synthetase/RNase L antiviral pathway associated with chronic fatigue syndrome”, Clinical Infectious Diseases 18, S96–S104.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Takeuchi, O., Kaufmann, A., Grote, K., Kawai, T., Hoshino, K., Morr, M., Muhlradt, P.F. and Akira, S. (2000 ) “Cutting edge: preferentially the R-stereoisomer of the Mycoplasmal lipopep- tide macrophage-activating lipopeptide-2 activates immune cells through a toll-like receptor 2- and MyD88-dependent signalling pathway”, Journal of Immunology 164, 554–557.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Uetani, K., Der, S.D., Zamanian-Daryoush, M., de la Motte, C., Lieberman, B.Y., Williams, B.R.G. and Erzurum, S.C. (2000 ) “Central role of double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase in microbial induction of nitric oxide synthase”, Journal of Immunology 165, 988–996.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Vojdani, A., Choppa, P.C., Tagle, C., Andrin, R., Samini, B. and Lapp, C.W. (1998 ) “Detection of Mycoplasma genus and Mycoplasma fermentans by PCR in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome”, FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology 22, 355–365.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Warren, G., McKendrick, M. and Peet, M. (1999 ) “The role of essential fatty acids in chronic fatigue syndrome”, Acta Neurological Scandinavica 99, 112–116.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yousef, G.E., Bell, E.J., Mann, G.F., Murugesan, V., Smith, D.G. and McCartney, R.A. (1988 ) “Chronic enterovirus infection in patients with postviral fatigue syndrome”, Lancet 1, 146–150.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zaragoza, C., Ocampo, C.J., Saura, M., McMillan, A. and Lowenstein, C.J. (1997 ) “Nitric oxide inhibition of coxsackievirus replication in vitro”, Journal of Clinical Investigation 100, 1760–1767.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar