Ortho article translation
Sorry, it's Google translate again, but it gives the gist of it.
[Quote starts]
Gendringen -16 April 2010. Researchers at UMC St. Radboud were published in February in the blood of Dutch patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) no XMRV virus have been found. But she concealed that American investigators in blood samples from the same patients, this retrovirus have found.
This appears from a letter Annette Whittemore, chief of the Whittemore-Peterson Institute (WPI) in Reno, on Monday, April 12 sent to Dr. Myra McClure. (1) The latter is retro virology professor at Imperial College London and one of the authors of the first negative 'replication studies' to XMRV infection in ME / CFS. (2) In its letter inviting McClure from Whittemore to cooperate with the WPI in the investigation of XMRV. They also fold out of the school over the other two negative replication studies published to date, including those of the UMC St. Radboud.
Email Correspondence
The Nijmegen experimental virologist Dr. Frank Kuppeveld internist and Prof. Jos van der Meer took earlier this year in frozen blood from 1991-1992 of 32 Dutch CFS no trace of XMRV. In the blood of 43 healthy control subjects, the retrovirus is not detected. They published their findings online in late February the British Medical Journal. (3)
In her letter indicates that the WPI Whittemore, however, at the request of Van Kuppeveld, some blood samples from the Dutch cohort study has tested before the Nijmegen study was completed. The WPI found traces of it XMRV. Whittemore says about email correspondence that shows that disposal of Kuppeveld was aware of the WPI research results before they have negative studies published. In his scientific publication, however, no mention of cooperation with WP1. (3) The editors of Ortho On April 14 Annette Whittemore asked for a copy of the email traffic in Nijmegen, but this request has not (yet) accepted.
Whittemore wrote in her letter that further Kuppeveld From the WPI has called for a positive blood sample and reagents, in order to determine whether its testing procedures were able to find XMRV in positive blood. The WPI was responding to this question. Whittemore's letter asks why Kuppeveld From his research has not made use of these materials.
Confirmation
Annette Whittemore's letter raises many questions about the Nijmegen XMRV research. The most pressing question is whether the reading of Kuppeveld Whittemore can confirm? And if so, how many blood samples from the Nijmegen cohort study were sent to Reno, and that number by the WPI tested positive? And last but not least, why the Nijmegen researchers did not mention this in all languages in and around their research published in the British Medical Journal?
Last Wednesday announced the editors of Ortho by phone at Van Kuppeveld virologist, after his first letter from Annette Whittemore to have emailed. During the telephone conversation which followed, gave the virologist to this letter not previously have had to face. From Kuppeveld said in the short term response: "I will first have the letter and reduce admin-at least there with my colleagues to talk, which perhaps are abroad."
After some urging, however, confirmed Kuppeveld reading Whittemore. All things are in his complicated than it appears from her letter. Thus, according to him one or more of the 43 healthy control subjects from the Nijmegen cohort tested positive by the WPI XMRV. At Van Kuppeveld this had raised questions about the reliability of the WPI methodology. In addition, the virologist to know when WPI multiple blood samples were requested but never received more than one XMRV-positive blood sample.
Seven blood samples
Looking for answers, we approached yesterday, Dr Judy Mikovits, research director of the WPI and director of the XMRV research. They gave us a telephone interview the necessary answers. "Frank Kuppeveld seven samples sent us," said Mikovits. "They were numbered 1 to 7. It was cDNA, which he had made of RNA. "
The WPI tested the seven samples with an advanced PCR technique in a closed system, so no contamination could occur. Three samples were positive. After which numbers reported in Nijmegen were tested positive, the message came back that they were two patients and a healthy control person. Mikovits for this outcome was as expected. "We were never informed about the number of control subjects in this group of seven. But two positives seven is about what I expected. I did not advance out of a 100% score, especially with PCR. "
That a control person was found positive by the WPI was also not a surprise for Mikovits. "It all depends on where you get the blood." In the BMJ, the Nijmegen researchers indicated that the checks came from the vicinity of patients. "The positive control person is no surprise as the family or a caregiver concerned. Control Persons coming along with the patient to donate blood, we call touch controls. Some of these people may be infected. "
It is anyway true that XMRV is also found in healthy individuals. So did the WPI in their own research in Science 218 healthy controls eight people with a XMRV positive test (3.7%) (4).
No replication
Mikovits Judy and her colleagues are extremely angry about the fact that the Nijmegen research in the BMJ publication has reported on cooperation with the WPI. "We have at least one month for every three or four days had contact," she says. "There was material up and down, cooperation agreements, signatures." Sat for her sense of her Kuppeveld behind the feathers. "He was very demanding and always asked whether I had received all things, had tested or reviewed."
Approximately one week before the Nijmegen BMJ study published online, fell silent communication. "That was after I had sent our positive results. I saw this as good news: "You have something that you can start work. From Kuppeveld but did not find good news because they had found nothing. His message was: there is among you, there has been contamination. While I had received the material from him. I was really speechless. That was the end of contact. A week later, their publication. "
Mikovits find it incomprehensible that the Nijmegen researchers in any way have used the materials they received from the WPI. But claimed a "replication study" to have done. "We send antibody positive serum and positive DNA. Kuppeveld of samples had been able to grow up like we did in our study Science. They had their plasma to test for antibodies and reagents we can use to search for proteins and things like that. But they have not done anything and also reported on the possibilities to do it. We would have liked Kuppeveld Of all data had been reported. If there is a disagreement or misinterpretation, can you look at it together. They had the code samples and disrupt our work together. But you can not just leave to avoid the outside world as if nothing happened. "
From hindsight Kuppeveld and his colleagues are only interested in the PCR technique, while Mikovits assumed that the entire Nijmegen Science Research would be repeated. "I had no idea that he spent the rest of the investigation was not wanted. That surprised me enormously. "
Keep silent
Long was one from the WPI remained silent. Until early this week. Annette Whittemore Mikovits suspect was triggered by statements made on television recently Myra McClure, in which the significance of the British retroviroloog XMRV in ME / CFS belittled. Whittemore decided in this arena to act on her letter. "We took a long time that the best way to deal with this is to continue our investigation and the lies just to forget. What else can you do? We had seven samples did our work and reported to them honestly what we had found. "
Van Kuppeveld more positive blood samples requested, Mikovits confirm. "I'd like to send him more. But what would he have done it? Finding out that they were negative, and then bad things to say? " Mikovits is determined to continue to walk XMRV route sounds and motivated than ever. "We have isolated a virus from one hundred patients and show how their immune system responds. You know, there is no immune response to a contaminant. The patients were clearly infected with a virus. "
Mikovits is not the only one who takes very seriously XMRV: earlier this month it was announced that in Canada, people with CFS suffered no longer allowed to donate blood. Canada is the first country in the world that this precaution has been taken.
1. Whittemore A. Dear Dr. McClure. April 12, 2010 (
www.wpinstitute.org)
2. Erlwein 0, S Kaye, A. [..], Clear Failure to detect the novel retrovirus XMRV in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. PLoS ONE 2010, 1: e8519
3. From Kuppeveld FJ, de Jong AS, van der Meer JWM [..],. Prevalence or xenotropic murine Leukaemia virus-related virus in patient with chronic fatigue syndrome in the Netherlands: retrospective analysis of samples from an Established cohort. BMJ 2010; 340: c1018
4. VC Lombardi, Ruscetti FW, [..], Mikovits JA. Detection of an infectious retrovirus, XMRV in blood cells or patient with chronic fatigue syndrome. Science 2009, 326 (5952) :585-9
De Graaf T. XMRV: the missing link in ME / CFS? Ortho 1, 2010: 6
De Graaf T. XMRV pray ME / CFS: an update. Ortho 2, 2010: 86
________________________________________
Ortho - Orthomolecular Magazine -
www.ortho.nl
Bimonthly magazine on nutrition and supplements
Chief Editor: Dr. Gert E. Schuitemaker