Is Temporomandibular Disorders Associated With Human Herpes Virus-6?

Human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6) levels have been considered as markers for various diseases including chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Overlapping conditions among patients with CFS and temporomandibular disorders (TMD), such as myalgia, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and impairment in ability to perform activities of daily living as consequences of these symptoms, have also been reported. We hypothesize that HHV-6 infection or reactivation plays a role in the pathogenesis of TMD of muscular origin, i.e., localized myalgia. The aim of this study was to test salivary HHV-6 levels of patients with TMD of muscular origin, i.e., localized myalgia and compared them with healthy individuals.

Methods:

Sixteen patients with localized myalgia participated in the pilot study. Thirty-six healthy individuals served as controls. The participants were examined clinically in relation to the condition of the temporomandibular region and the salivary levels of HHV-6 were measured by quantitative PCR (qPCR).

Results:

The results demonstrated that 77.8% of healthy individuals were HHV-6 positive while only 43.8% of patients with localized myalgia were positive for HHV-6, a statistically significant difference.

Conclusions:

The results of this study indicate that HHV-6 infection or reactivation is unlikely to play a major role in the pathogenesis of TMD of muscular origin i.e., localized myalgia.