The Autumn and Winter 1997 issues of Emerge contained information on a novel enzyme found in CFS in an upregulated RNase - L biochemical pathway, which is important in controlling metabolism and has antiviral functions. This issue of Emerge contains a summary of a preliminary study published on this enzyme.

This initial study has been duplicated using hundreds of patients and two other studies in Europe have confirmed this work and are due for publication. Suhadolnik's research team are starting to investigate whether therapies based on correcting the abnormality may help symptoms. As the paper shows, the abnormality is complex and may not simply be a presence or absence situation as the levels of the abnormal and normal enzymes may also be important.

It is important to realise that this research is still in its preliminary stages, but holds promise for the possibility of both a diagnostic test and a treatment. The test may also objectively determine the severity of the illness based on the level of the enzymes present. Before such a test can be used however, the current finding, that this abnormal enzyme seems to be specific to CFS, must hold up in larger published studies.

The existence of the abnormality in such an important and central biochemical pathway is significant. Studies are underway to see if the abnormality can be used to distinguish CFS from other similar illnesses and to determine if the abnormality is associated with a particular stage of the illness or fluctuates over time. Developments in this research will be further reported on in Emerge as they become available.

Reprinted from Emerge, December 1997.