Here is another interesting connection that hit me as soon as I woke up this morning. Low dose naltrexone (which I am taking) has been shown in studies in Africa to stop the HIV virus from turning into AIDS. It has also stopped the progression of immune damage in patients who already have AIDS.
http://www.ldnafricaaids.org/?page_id=4
"The safety as well as potential efficacy of LDN in preventing AIDS was discovered by Bernard Bihari, M.D., a Harvard-trained New York physician, in 1985. Since that time Dr. Bihari has treated more than 350 patients, 94% of whom have remained HIV positive without progression into AIDS for up to 18 or more years so far. Many of these individuals received only LDN and some used LDN as an auxiliary to the evolving HAART drugs....
" Dr. Bihari, Dr. Abdel Kader Traore` (and other health officials at the University Hospital in Bamako in Bamako, Mali), and more recently Dr. Jaquelyn McCandless, have created a protocol for a controlled, non-placebo study involving 250 adult volunteers, all of whom are HIV positive but have not yet developed any AIDS symptoms. The protocol will test efficacy of LDN alone compared to the current HAART medications as well as the combination of the two. The Malian government is fully supportive of this study and will provide the HAART medications needed."
Dr. Jaquelyn McCandless has used LDN extensively to treat autistic children --with good results. She has a Yahoo Groups forum on autism and LDN.
One of its mechanisms in the immune system (it has many) is to shift the balance from Th2 dominance to Th1 dominance.
I have felt much better on this medication and while I don't know which of its many effects is helping, this possibility is quite interesting. Perhaps if it is effective against HIV it could possibly be effective against XMRV?
It is also interesting to me that my ex-husband has prostate cancer...hmmm.
This is another one to watch.
Sushi
Hi Sushi,
Truly remarkable information! Thanks much for posting this. With all the discussion about trying anti-retroviral drugs (with its complexity, cost and potential side effects), I would think trials with LDN would be much more in order as somewhat of a starting point. Seems like LDN is low-cost, simple, and has minimal side effects. Plus, there are some who are already getting really good results after just a short period of time, such as yourself.
I've been following your posts on the LDN thread, and have been slowly bringing it from my "back burner" to my "front burner". With this new information, I'm looking at making it "front and center!". It just seems like such a logical place to start. Plus, you don't have to wait to get test for XMRV before getting started.
A couple of thoughts I've had: Like Jenbooks, I can't help but wonder if vaccinations have played a role in this unfolding scenario. I've long suspected they played a role for me, and I can't shake that feeling as I read these discussions about transmissions.
Another thought, which might explain some of the transmission possibilities: What if XMRV is a virus that is vulnerable and easily handled by healthy immune systems, but once it gets a foothold, becomes much more virulent. This could explain why so many other factors like methylation, heavy metals, periods of extreme stress, genetics, etc., which can impact the immune system, can be such factors in XMRV infection. Just a thought.
Hi Finch, I appreciated your greeting! Hi everyone else! I've really appreciated all your comments. Great stuff! Hi Bluebird, big welcome to this forum!
Great to see you here. Will look forward to more of your posts.
Best to All, Wayne