Search for Borna disease virus in Danish fibromyalgia patients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to look for Borna disease virus (B DV) in IS patients with acute onset of fibromyalgia (FMS) following a "flu- like" episode. BDV is a neurotropic RNA virus affecting horses and sheep. I nfections in animals have been reported to cause immune mediated disease ch aracterized by abnormalities in behavior. A possible link between BDV and n europsychiatric 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 spin al 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 ou r results, since FMS can exhibit many manifestations in common with CFS. Po ssible reasons for the discrepant findings are discussed.