"Chronic Epstein-Barr virus infection" syndrome and polymyalgia rheumatica

Abstract

Twenty-three patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) followed in an academic rheumatology practice frequently reported symptoms commonly found in the recently described "chronic fatigue syndrome" or "chronic Epstein-Barr infection syndrome." These symptoms persisted for months after treatment had reduced the severity of the myalgias and lowered the sedimentation rate: periodically disabling fatigue (33%), recurrent pharyngitis (30%), sleep disorder (65%) and arthralgias (70%). However, antibody titers to Epstein-Barr virus in the patients with PMR were not significantly different from those in age and sex matched control subjects.