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Chronicle of Dr.Mikovits conference in Spain

ladybugmandy

Senior Member
Messages
25
Europe conference?

hi all. was there a european virus conference this past week? my doctor was gone to europe and so was dr. mikovits i think....

most of the ID docs were in europe i was told at my local hospital.

thanks
sue
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
If so, they'll be stuck in Europe for a pretty long time with this volcano blackening the air!!! I read that last time a volcano erupted in Iceland like this it went on for a whole year...
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
There's something in Edinburgh coming up (Conference).

Still no planes in our skies here though.

(from BA)

Aviation authorities have closed British airspace until at least 7 a.m. BST on Sunday because of the danger posed by clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland
 

Rita

Senior Member
Messages
235
This seminar should be in Badalona,next Barcelona, North Spain,Southern Europe,(Not volcano clouds here) but I fear that Dr Judy may not travel.
Aeroports are not closed now , but were the past days.
 

Rita

Senior Member
Messages
235
The Spanish conference was only for professionals, for doctors. I know a friend who was going to go, but I know nothing else. Spanish doctors know a little English, but often not able to speak and understand English, I do not know if they will have learned something or have translation...
It is an honor for us to have Mikovits in our country, she is so busy.

As it is only for professionals, it is possible that we know very little of what was said today.

We, the Spanish patients, are treated very badly by most of the doctors who tell us "CFS is not important, many people have" They always deny us disability income and we have to fight in the courts, which neither believe in this disease.

So is so important that JUdy come here and explain to doctors what to look for in our tests, and it is a serious and potentially contagious disease.

Ill tell you if I know something else.
Its a very good , warm and sunny day in Barcelona today.I hope Judy can go to the beach or visit the city.
 

Rita

Senior Member
Messages
235
Today, April 27, 2010, we had the pleasure to meet and listen to Dr Judy Mikovits, the discoverer of the retrovirus in CFS XMRV, Hospital Germans Trias and Pujol (Can Ruti) from Badalona.
Dr Mikovits has impressed us with their knowledge and detailed information about the research work. Dr Mikovits is working with the team retrovirology Can Ruti Dr Clotet (IrsiCaixa Foundation) in the study being undertaken on the XMRV in CFS patients in Catalonia. Dr.M says they are very enthusiastic about the work of the team of Dr Clotet, for the good work they are doing and for his long work in retrovirology.
We can not summarize a scientific conference this level, but outline a couple of important points mentioned by Dr Mikovits:
- The blood banks can not accept blood donors with or have never had any problems with SFC
- It is very important that people with CFS are diagnosed before 6 months of being ill because they are watching at that time is very active the retrovirus
- The XMRV is a simple retrovirus HIV, which has not mutated over the past 25 years (they have samples of 1984 patients), which is believed that the treatment might not be as difficult to develop.

Dr Mikovits will continue working with the team Can Ruti.

We are sorry that although the room was full for the conference, there were only two doctors in CFS. Why have not others been? The Health Department also has been conspicuous by his absence at an event of such importance.
(CFS League-Liga SFC)
 

HopingSince88

Senior Member
Messages
335
Location
Maine
We are sorry that although the room was full for the conference, there were only two doctors in CFS. Why have not others been? The Health Department also has been conspicuous by his absence at an event of such importance.
(CFS League-Liga SFC)

Thank you for the update, Rita. It does seem that the only ones taking XMRV seriously right now are researchers. There are few doctors that even believe that CFS is an organic illness, so it is not unusual that no doctors show up. And the Public Health departments almost everywhere seem to have the heads buried in the sand. Until the research community comes up with more validating studies, I think this will continue to be the case.
 

MNC

Messages
205
Here goes the chronicle of Dr.Mikovits' conference in Spain (Barcelona, April 27).

I guess it says nothing new for the ones who follow this subject. It is a Google translation from the posts in a Spanish CFS forum of a Spanish guy (CFS patient and pharmacist of profession) who went to the conference and tells the story with plenty of humour and lots of Spanish slang.

I don't know if you will be able to understand it as the Google Translator is not good enough for slang, but anyway, I'm sure some people who are very interested in the subject will give it a try.

This is it: http://tinyurl.com/3a73xgp

And if you can understand Spanish just go here: http://tinyurl.com/38orhb6
 

Alexia

Senior Member
Messages
168
Location
Portugal
The good news I've read in the spanish summary is "Si que ha comentado la Dra Mikovitz que tiene "preparado" 4 artculos esperando publicacin con las ltimas "novedades" y que est a punto de publicar." For the ones who don't understand Spanish .. Dr. Mikovitz has written 4 new papers with the lasted news and some are just about to be published. We are waiting!
 

ixchelkali

Senior Member
Messages
1,107
Location
Long Beach, CA
If I'm understanding correctly, they gave a lecture to the hematologists at the leading hospital in Catalonia (Vall d'Hebron). I wonder if Spain will be the next country to ban CFS patients' blood donations?
 

MNC

Messages
205
If I'm understanding correctly, they gave a lecture to the hematologists at the leading hospital in Catalonia (Vall d'Hebron). I wonder if Spain will be the next country to ban CFS patients' blood donations?

You probably mean this: "Yesterday I visited with Dr. Alegre and he seemed to be impressed by what Dr. Mikovits said and the possible consequences of XMRV. In fact, he said that at 3:00 PM he was giving a lecture to the hematologists of the Vall d'Hebron on the subject."

I wouldn't go so fast about Spain banning CFS people from donating blood. CFS is very small here and politicians have little pressure, and with this wild crisis (20% unemployment and threat of national bankruptcy as in Greece) they surely will not be running to admit the illness and spend lots of money in us by paying disability pensions, research, etc.

Dr.Alegre is probably the most known Spanish doctor in CFS. He is an internist and works for the Social Security in this big hospital in Barcelona named Vall d'Hebron. But he is a very controversial one.

People from all over Spain go to see him in Barcelona because of his knowledge and because he is the only one that is giving patients official medical reports to present to our social security for disability request. Our Social Security will not pay attention to any medical reports written by private doctors who don't work for the social security. Meaning this guy has waiting lists of months.

So, on one hand he is indeed one who knows well the illness (in this video he explains it perfectly well http://vimeo.com/341273). On the other hand he is subject of accusations of being involved with politicians in a way that the community of patients disagrees. I don't know the details but I have been told ugly things about him in this sense.

I went to see him too and the consultation was a joke. He didn't check anything at all. Just asked me a questionaire in 5 minutes and diagnosed me with very severe CFS. he prescribed me a hell of a lot of medications and sent me off. The list of those meds is hilarious. Three different antidepressants. One tranquillizer and one sleeping pill. Cortisone and Fludrocortisone. Pain killers. Anti-inflammatories. Etc. Needless to say I could only laugh and didn't come back and didn't take any of that. If that is the treatment he prescribes, he must be making the patients much more sick.

His ex-wife is also a CFS doctor. A very expensive one in Madrid. She charges 200 $ for a visit. And people are saying that she is opening a CFS clinic in Madrid with Dr. De Meirleir (the famous De Meirleir from Brussels). Everyone feels they go for the money.

Dr.Alegre told me that he believed that the way to solve CFS was through genomics and proteomics. He explains it in that video, but it's in Spanish. He has been working much in this field and I don't know what he thinks now of XMRV.
 

oerganix

Senior Member
Messages
611
The good news I've read in the spanish summary is "Si que ha comentado la Dra Mikovitz que tiene "preparado" 4 artculos esperando publicacin con las ltimas "novedades" y que est a punto de publicar." For the ones who don't understand Spanish .. Dr. Mikovitz has written 4 new papers with the lasted news and some are just about to be published. We are waiting!

"Dr. Mikovitz has written 4 new papers with the latest (my correction) news and some are just about to be published. We are waiting!"

That is good news and very exciting! Thanks for posting this.
 

oerganix

Senior Member
Messages
611
Dr Judy charms 'em in Spain; gets Nobel Prize nomination

Also interesting that the blog says Dr Mikovits is working with Dr Clotet, looking for XMRV in CFS patients in Catalonia, AND will publish in the next few months.

The blogger ends with this:
"An exquisite, very accessible and otherwise charming Mikovitz Dra.
From here my support for Nobel Prize in Medicine, if the thing turns out to be it,and it seems so."
 

ixchelkali

Senior Member
Messages
1,107
Location
Long Beach, CA
You probably mean this: "Yesterday I visited with Dr. Alegre and he seemed to be impressed by what Dr. Mikovits said and the possible consequences of XMRV. In fact, he said that at 3:00 PM he was giving a lecture to the hematologists of the Vall d'Hebron on the subject."

I wouldn't go so fast about Spain banning CFS people from donating blood. CFS is very small here and politicians have little pressure, and with this wild crisis (20% unemployment and threat of national bankruptcy as in Greece) they surely will not be running to admit the illness and spend lots of money in us by paying disability pensions, research, etc.

Dr.Alegre is probably the most known Spanish doctor in CFS. He is an internist and works for the Social Security in this big hospital in Barcelona named Vall d'Hebron. But he is a very controversial one.

People from all over Spain go to see him in Barcelona because of his knowledge and because he is the only one that is giving patients official medical reports to present to our social security for disability request. Our Social Security will not pay attention to any medical reports written by private doctors who don't work for the social security. Meaning this guy has waiting lists of months.

So, on one hand he is indeed one who knows well the illness (in this video he explains it perfectly well http://vimeo.com/341273). On the other hand he is subject of accusations of being involved with politicians in a way that the community of patients disagrees. I don't know the details but I have been told ugly things about him in this sense.

I went to see him too and the consultation was a joke. He didn't check anything at all. Just asked me a questionaire in 5 minutes and diagnosed me with very severe CFS. he prescribed me a hell of a lot of medications and sent me off. The list of those meds is hilarious. Three different antidepressants. One tranquillizer and one sleeping pill. Cortisone and Fludrocortisone. Pain killers. Anti-inflammatories. Etc. Needless to say I could only laugh and didn't come back and didn't take any of that. If that is the treatment he prescribes, he must be making the patients much more sick.

His ex-wife is also a CFS doctor. A very expensive one in Madrid. She charges 200 $ for a visit. And people are saying that she is opening a CFS clinic in Madrid with Dr. De Meirleir (the famous De Meirleir from Brussels). Everyone feels they go for the money.

Dr.Alegre told me that he believed that the way to solve CFS was through genomics and proteomics. He explains it in that video, but it's in Spanish. He has been working much in this field and I don't know what he thinks now of XMRV.

Thanks for the explanation, MNC. It's hard to keep up with all the Internation ME/CFS politics, especially when you don't really speak the language. Your Dr Alegre (gotta love the name) sounds kind of like our Dr Jacob Teitelbaum. He goes on TV and says that CFS is real and serious, but I think he does it so that he will get more patients for his very expensive clinic. That wouldn't be so bad except I believe his treatments are dangerous and that he implies he can cure people.