Clinical activity of folinic acid in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Arzneimittelforschung. 2006;56(6):399-404.

Clinical activity of folinic acid in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Lundell K, Qazi S, Eddy L, Uckun FM. Parker Hughes Institute and Parker Hughes Clinics, St. Paul, MN 55113, USA.

A high incidence of severe B-cell immunodeficiency and chronic reactivated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is reported herein. Of the 58 patients evaluated, 100% had evidence of prior EBV exposure and 72% had evidence for reactivated EBV infection. Notably, 94% of CFS patients had B-cell immunodeficiency with a marked depletion of their CD19+IgM+ mature B-lymphocyte population. A remarkable 81% of CFS patients experienced subjective improvement of their symptoms after treatment with folinic acid (CAS 58-05-9, leucovorin). The findings provide unprecedented evidence that CFS frequently is a folinic acid responsive clinical entity accompanied by B-cell immunodeficiency and inappropriate antibody responses to EBV.

PMID: 16889122 [PubMed - in process]