Antiviral pathway activation in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and acute infection.

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