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Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.
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So I was right about there being multiple retroviruses. And I was wrong about just one of them causing CFS.
Tina
Cort,
You should print out and frame the Forums Homepage today. Seven super informative articles of such outstanding quality overflowing with hope-filled breakthroughs and enlightening science, I was salivating reading them all! From Joey's report on Dr. Peterson, to the great news from and about WPI, to this amazingly insightful report on the Alter paper, I felt like I was reading a great issue from Time Magazine in the 1970's, when they were still cutting-edge.
Great work, Cort. Keep it up!
Good points Sunshine. If what you are saying is correct - that replication studies - ie those that use the same PCR process as the WPI - will find XMRV and not MLV's then I imagine all are present in ME/CFS - which would make sense. I think the Alter group is very happy to find a 'swarm' of MLV's and, of course, to include XMRV in them.
I don't think Lo/Alter would agree that they did not essentially replicate the WPI paper in the methods used to find XMRV by PCR. It is other aspects of the study they did not replicate. That is my understanding.
True, but only if you use artificial positive samples. A fundamental finding of the Lo/Alter study is that the virus you find in infected people is different, and it keeps changing over time.(Dr. Katz showed a slide at the CAA webinar indicating that all the participating labs, the CDC, BSRI, WPI, FDA were equally adept at detect XMRV in samples.)
Excellent work Cort. This is a great deal of highly-technical information to absorb, in a very limited time. There is little comparison between the poor information provided by various talking heads to the general public, and the quality of your work. Now, if we could just get you paid on their scale.
Naturally, being the kind of person I am, there are a couple of things I'd change.
True, but only if you use artificial positive samples. A fundamental finding of the Lo/Alter study is that the virus you find in infected people is different, and it keeps changing over time.
I think you mixed up the business of integrating viral genes into nuclear DNA with integration into germline DNA, something much rarer. Curiously, no one has yet mentioned the possibility this virus might infect mitochondria, possibly bypassing the nucleus.
Posted by anciendaze - Curiously, no one has yet mentioned the possibility this virus might infect mitochondria, possibly bypassing the nucleus.
Even a non-scientist like me can develop a rough hypothesis about how this might account for the peculiar mechanisms of post-exertional malaise, particularly its delayed action, and why this symptom is unique to this disease.
Actually the slide just before that one specified that it was whole blood spiked with XMRV positive cells, and plasma spiked with supernatent containing XMRV cells. I think it was also mentioned at the Blood Products Advisory Committee meeting.I agree that we do not know if Katz was referring to 'live' or spiked samples. It could very well be that he was referring to testing the ability of the different labs to find XMRV in spiked samples. I imagine he was actually.