For sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), there may be hope on the horizon, not to mention some degree of vindication. A recent article in the New York Times has reported that researchers may have isolated a virus that could be responsible for this mysterious ailment that afflicts over one million people in the U.S. and over 17 million worldwide.

CFS is characterized by extreme, debilitating fatigue that lasts for years. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headaches, joint pain, and memory problems. CFS primarily affects women in their 40s and 50s and can impair a person’s ability to do even the most basic activities. Currently there is no cure, and there is no effective treatment other than ameliorating the symptoms.

Furthermore, because the symptoms are similar in other disorders, CFS is difficult to even diagnose and may not be considered a serious problem at first. In fact, people who come down with CFS have been accused of having psychological problems or even being malingerers, i.e., faking their symptoms.

Now, scientists believe that a virus that may be the culprit. In an article published in the journal Science, researchers found that 67% percent of the patients suffering from CFS harbored the virus xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, or XMRV. For comparison, a little over 3% of healthy subjects were infected. Additional studies revealed that in 300 patients, almost 98% of them were found to carry the virus.

XMVR is similar to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, in that they are both retroviruses. This means that their genetic information is RNA instead of DNA. Because of this, their life cycle requires that they incorporate themselves into the host genome, where they take over the cells machinery in order to reproduce.

The authors of the study caution that they have not yet confirmed whether the virus causes CFS, or if CFS predisposes a person to contracting the virus, and further research needs to be done to address this question. However, the findings open the door for a potential treatment or cure.

The next step would be to test patient responses to antiretroviral medication, including ones used to treat HIV infection. If these therapies prove to be effective in treating CFS, it would confirm that the virus is playing a role in the disorder.

For now, the findings represent a ray of hope for people suffering from CFS, which has long been considered a mystery illness whose cause and treatment have been a bit of medical black box, frustrating medical practitioners who are often at a loss for what they are dealing with.