Scientific journal retracts study that linked mouse virus to human chronic fatigue syndrome

Dec 23 2011

Editors at the journal Science have retracted a study that linked a virus in mice to chronic fatigue syndrome in humans after the Cleveland Clinic said some data came from a contaminated lab.

The New York Times: Fatigue Syndrome Study Is Retracted By Journal
The journal Science on Thursday fully retracted a controversial study that had linked a mouse leukemia retrovirus to chronic fatigue syndrome, a disabling illness affecting an estimated one million people in the United States. Some data in the study were retracted in September when the Cleveland Clinic, which participated in the initial research, reported that its findings had resulted from laboratory contamination. The notice posted by Science on Thursday cited additional concerns about the research, although the wording made it clear that not all the original authors agreed to the retraction (Tuller, 12/22).

The Washington Post: Study Linking Virus To Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Retracted Amid Controversy
A two-year scientific controversy all but ended Thursday when the prestigious journal Science retracted a study linking a strange virus to chronic fatigue syndrome, a sometimes-debilitating disorder with no known cause. The journal's editors "lost confidence" in the study after at least a dozen attempts to replicate the finding failed, Editor in Chief Bruce Alberts wrote in a retraction notice to be published Friday (Vastag, 12/22).

The Philadelphia Inquirer/Health Day: Journal Retracts Faulty Chronic Fatigue Study
Laying rest to a long-simmering controversy, editors at the journal Science have retracted a paper that pinpointed a specific virus as the likely cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. The 2009 report suggested that xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) was the probable culprit behind chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), which causes crippling fatigue, aching joints, headaches and other symptoms in about 1 percent of the world's population. Follow-up findings failed to confirm the report, leading to Thursday's unusual action. Science announced the retraction to media today; it will be published in the Dec. 23 issue of the journal (Gardner, 12/22).