Human Herpes Virus-6 (HHV-6) and Its Link to CFS and Fibromyalgia

Human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6), a member of the herpes virus family, is present in nearly 100% of the adult population, but in the majority of people, symptoms either never occur or occur only during early childhood, usually before age two. The most common childhood symptom caused by HHV-6 is rose­ola infantum, which manifests as a rose-col­ored skin rash that is accompanied by fever but is not infectious.

Typically, once these symptoms abate, the virus becomes dor­mant, but it can later be reactivated due to various immunological or environmental fac­tors. If reactivation occurs, symptoms of HHV-6 can be much more severe, and include hepatitis, meningoencephalitis (inflamma­tion of the brain and the membranes of the spinal cord), pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs), and mononucleosis. Recent research indicates that HHV-6 may also be a cofactor in a variety of other disease con­ditions, including AIDS, cervical cancer, oral carcinoma, autism, bipolar disorder, atten­tion deficit disorder (ADD), multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

A number of researchers—most notably W. John Martin, M.D., Ph.D., of the Center for Complex Infectious Diseases (CCID) in Rosemead, California—believe that HHV-6 plays a pivotal role in chronic fatigue syn­drome, and it's Dr. Martin's view that the term CFS should be discarded altogether since, he explains, "The entity called chronic fatigue syndrome simply refers to a loose grouping of certain symptoms that are part of a much wider spectrum of the clinical man­ifestations of viral-induced organic brain dis­ease [caused by HHV-6 and other viral agents]."8 Dr. Martin calls HHV-6 and other viral agents that act similarly "stealth viruses," because, though they can cause severe ill effects at the cellular level, they typ­ically do not cause the inflammatory re­sponse that commonly occurs when the body tries to fight off other viral agents. As a result, HHV-6, though widely prevalent, is often over­looked as a causative factor in CFS, fibro­myalgia, and many other disease conditions.

Thus, left untreated, HHV-6 continues to cre­ate persistent and ongoing infections that cause the immune system to remain chron­ically "up-regulated" or otherwise impaired, eventually to the point where it is no longer effective in maintaining health. b
Persons infected by a stealth virus such as HHV-6 experience systemic viral illness, according to Dr. Martin, with many of their symptoms related to dysfunction of the brain. "This merely reflects the unique sus­ceptibility of the brain to localized viral-induced damage," Dr. Martin explains. "Sig­nificant viral damage to other organs, such as the bowel, liver, thyroid, adrenal glands, etc., can, however, add to the neurological dysfunction resulting from viral infection within the brain."c

Joseph H. Brewer, M.D., of Kansas City, Missouri, is another leading researcher investigating HHV-6. Dr. Brewer reports a strong link between the virus and CFS, fibromyalgia, and other immune disorders. Dr. Brewer has found that although latent HHV-6 infection can be easily and accurately tested using conventional diagnostic meth­ods, "the same cannot be said for detect­ing active HHV-6 infection." Currently, ac­cording to Dr. Brewer, the most effective testing method for detecting active HHV-6 infection is the rapid viral culture test, avail­able through Hemex Laboratories."
To treat HHV-6 effectively, Dr. Brewer rec­ommends a comprehensive protocol that simultaneously results in antiviral activity, immune modulation, and anticoagulation (since HHV-6 is known to cause thickening of the blood, causing strain on the heart and less effective delivery of blood-borne oxygen and nutrients to the cells). This can include antiviral drugs such as acyclovir (Zovirax), ganciclovir (Cytovene), and foscarnet (Fos-cavir), and blood-thinning drugs such as heparin or coumadin. But Dr. Brewer also reports successful results using transfer fac­tors (TFs), stating that TFs have "consis­tently shown efficacy in the prevention and treatment of viral infections" and have "proven to be extremely safe, with virtually no significant adverse effects."

In studies he has conducted on patients with chronic fatigue syndrome accompanied by chronic active HHV-6 infection, he found "significant symptom improvement, consistently nega­tive HHV-6 blood cultures, and marked improvement in NK [natural killer cell] func­tion" using a transfer factor derived from bovine colostrum and specific for HHV-6.6 Many clinicians investigating HHV-6-related disorders are also recommending the use of Wobenzym N, an oral pancreatic enzyme formula, as an effective alterna­tive to anticoagulant drugs such as heparin and coumadin.f