Tag: viruses

Rheumatism and chronic fatigue, the two facets of post-chikungunya disease: the TELECHIK cohort study on Reunion island

Abstract:

Prolonged fatigue is increasingly reported among chikungunya virus (CHIKV)-infected populations. We investigated the relationships between CHIKV exposure, long-lasting rheumatic musculoskeletal pain (LRMSP) and chronic fatigue. 1094 participants (512 CHIKV seropositive and 582 seronegative) of the TELECHIK population-based cohort were analysed considering the duration of the manifestations throughout an average 2-year follow-up.

Weighted prevalence rates and prevalence ratios for LRMSP, idiopathic chronic fatigue (ICF), and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)-like illness, both latter syndromes adapted from Centers for Disease Control (CDC)-1994/Fukuda criteria, were compared. Population attributable fractions (PAF) were estimated to assess the contribution of CHIKV infection to each of the three phenotypes.

Among 362 adult subjects who had reported either rheumatic pain or fatigue at the onset of the infection, weighted prevalence rates of LRMSP, ICF and CFS-like illness were respectively of 32.9%, 38.7% and 23.9%, and of 8.7%, 8.5% and 7.4% among initially asymptomatic peers (P < 0.01, respectively). Each of the three outcomes was highly attributable to chikungunya (PAF of 43.2%, 36.2% and 41.0%, respectively).

In the sub-cohort of CHIKV-infected subjects, LRMSP, ICF and CFS-like illness, which overlapped in 70%, accounted for 53% of the chronic manifestations. In addition to rheumatic disease, chronic fatigue could be considered in caring for patients with chronic chikungunya disease.

Source: Duvignaud A, Fianu A, Bertolotti A, Jaubert J, Michault A, Poubeau P, Fred A, Méchain M, Gaüzère BA, Favier F, Malvy D, Gérardin P. Rheumatism and chronic fatigue, the two facets of post-chikungunya disease: the TELECHIK cohort study on Reunion island. Epidemiol Infect. 2018 Feb 28:1-9. doi: 10.1017/S0950268818000031. [Epub ahead of print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29486812

In vitro effects of echinacea and ginseng on natural killer and antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity in healthy subjects and chronic fatigue syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients

Abstract:

Extracts of Echinacea purpurea and Panax ginseng were evaluated for their capacity to stimulate cellular immune function by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from normal individuals and patients with either the chronic fatigue syndrome or the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

PBMC isolated on a Ficoll-hypaque density gradient were tested in the presence or absence of varying concentrations of each extract for natural killer (NK) cell activity versus K562 cells and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against human herpesvirus 6 infected H9 cells. Both echinacea and ginseng, at concentrations > or = 0.1 or 10 micrograms/kg, respectively, significantly enhanced NK-function of all groups. Similarly, the addition of either herb significantly increased ADCC of PBMC from all subject groups.

Thus, extracts of Echinacea purpurea and Panax ginseng enhance cellular immune function of PBMC both from normal individuals and patients with depressed cellular immunity.

 

Source: See DM, Broumand N, Sahl L, Tilles JG. In vitro effects of echinacea and ginseng on natural killer and antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity in healthy subjects and chronic fatigue syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients. Immunopharmacology. 1997 Jan;35(3):229-35. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9043936

 

Chronic fatigue syndrome: a critical review

Abstract:

The term “chronic fatigue syndrome” (CFS) applies to a condition of unknown aetiology characterized clinically by an association of subjective symptoms, the most constant being an invalidating tiredness. The diagnostic criteria in current use do not permit to isolate an homogeneous subgroup among patients consulting for chronic asthenia.

In the present state of research no infectious or immunological cause has been demonstrated conclusively, although a persistent enterovirus or herpesvirus type 6 infection or a state of chronic immune activation seem to play a role in some cases. Patients who fulfill the criteria of CFS present with psychiatric overmorbidity, essentially depressive, and in 50% of the cases with the mental disorders preceding CFS. The various theoretical models linking CFS to psychopathology are discussed, and finally the syndrome is regarded as a social construction reproducing or renovating the neurasthenia of the late 19th century.

There is no specific treatment of CFS, but antidepressants, cognitive-behavioural therapy and perhaps certain immuno-modulators can be useful. The future lines of research should endeavour to isolate a subgroup of patients with prolonged asthenia after a recognized episode of infection and to identify the immunological, psychological and behavioral characteristics of this particular group as well as their reciprocal interactions.

 

Source: Cathébras P, Bouchou K, Charmion S, Rousset H. Chronic fatigue syndrome: a critical review. Rev Med Interne. 1993 Apr;14(4):233-42. [Article in French] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8378654