Valganciclovir antiviral and CFS

In this post I look at another antiviral that has been used.

• Response to valganciclovir in chronic fatigue syndrome patients with human herpesvirus 6 and Epstein-Barr virus IgG antibody titers.[2012] “61 CFS patients treated with 900 mg valganciclovir daily (55 of whom took an induction dose of 1,800 mg daily for the first 3 weeks). Antibody titers were considered high if HHV-6 IgG ≥ 1:320, EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgG ≥ 1:640, and EBV early antigen (EA) IgG ≥ 1:160 …Thirty-two patients (52%) were categorized as responders. Among these, 19 patients (59%) responded physically and 26 patients (81%) responded cognitively.
• Randomized clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of valganciclovir in a subset of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. [2013] “Thirty CFS patients with elevated IgG antibody titers against HHV-6 and EBV were randomized 2:1 to receive valganciclovir (VGCV) or placebo for 6 months in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial… MFI-20 mental fatigue subscore (P = 0.039), FSS score (P = 0.006), and cognitive function (P = 0.025).. experienced these improvements within the first 3 months and maintained that benefit over the remaining 9 months….monocyte counts decreased (P < 0.001), neutrophil counts increased (P = 0.037) and cytokines were more likely to evolve towards a Th1-profile (P < 0.001)….Viral IgG antibody titers did not differ “
• Treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Systematic Review for a National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention Workshop. [2015] ” Trials of galantamine, hydrocortisone, IgG, valganciclovir, isoprinosine, fluoxetine, and various complementary medicines were inconclusive (insufficient evidence).”

Bottom Line

About 21% had improvement in both physical and cognitive issues, 48% had no benefits. There was no remissions reported (unlike  Valacyclovir which reported some patients with complete resolution of symptoms). Not recommended while higher probability of improvement approaches have been tried (like getting Vitamin D in to the top 10% of the normal range)