Antiviral pathway activation in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome andacute infection

Gene expression of key enzymes in 2 antiviral pathways (ribonuclease latent [RNase L] and RNA-regulated protein kinase [PKR]) was compared in 22 patie nts with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), 10 patients with acute gastroenter itis, and 21 healthy volunteers. Pathway activation in the group of patient s with infections differed significantly from that of the other 2 groups, i n whom there was no evidence of upregulation. Therefore, assay of activatio n is unlikely to provide the basis for a diagnostic test for CFS.