Esther12
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WPI official statement in up on their website
http://www.wpinstitute.org/news/docs/WPI_Erlwein_010610.pdf
Official Statement from the Whittemore Peterson Institute Regarding UK Study
The Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI) has reviewed the paper entitled Failure to Detect the
Novel Retrovirus XMRV in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This study did not duplicate the
rigorous scientific techniques used by WPI, the National Cancer Institute and the Cleveland
Clinic, therefore it cannot be considered a replication study nor can the results claim to be
anything other than a failure not just to detect XMRV, but also a failure to suggest meaningful
results.
The scientific methods used by WPI are very exact and require specific techniques to ensure
accuracy. Differences in techniques employed by Erlwein et al. not only explain their failure to
replicate the WPI study, but also render the conclusions meaningless. These differences
include, but are not limited to the following:
1) blood sample volumes and processing;
2) patient criteria/population differences;
3) number and type of tests done to assure accurate results, including white blood cell
culture;
4) use of a molecular plasmid control in water versus a positive blood sample; and
5) different primer sequences and amplification protocol used to find the virus, which
were not validated by a clinical control.
The WPI study was published after six months of rigorous review and three independent lab
confirmations, proving that contamination had not taken place and that infectious XMRV was
present in 67 percent of CFS patients diagnosed according to the Canadian and Fukuda criteria.
In contrast, this latest study was published online after only three days of review. Significant
and critical questions remain as to the status of patient samples used in the UK study as those
samples may have been confused with fatigued psychiatric patients, since the UK has relegated
CFS patients to psychiatric care and not traditional medical practices.
Little is known about the prevalence of XMRV world-wide, much less the incidence of XMRV
in ME/CFS or prostate cancer emphasizes Dr. Judy Mikovits. WPI and its NCI collaborators
are actively engaged with international research teams to investigate these important questions.
WPI does not recommend the use of anti-retroviral drugs that have yet to be proven to be
effective in treating XMRV infection. However, several large pharmaceutical companies have
expressed interest in developing anti-retroviral and immune modulating drugs that will
effectively treat XMRV associated diseases.
WPI looks forward to the results of other scientific groups around the world, serious about
replicating its scientific results, by using the same techniques as WPI and its collaborators. The
fact that XMRV was detected in 67 percent of the CFS samples in the U.S. study determined a
significant association between XMRV and CFS, demanding a much more serious inquiry by
responsible health agencies around the world as to the cause of this debilitating disease.
Whittemore Peterson Institute
The Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease exists to bring discovery, knowledge,
and effective treatments to patients with illnesses that are caused by acquired dysregulation of the
immune system and the nervous system, often results in lifelong disease and disability. The WPI is
the first institute in the world dedicated to X associated neuro-immune disease (XAND), and other X
associated diseases, integrating patient treatment, basic and clinical research and medical
education.
Sorry - pasting it lost all the formatting. Have put in some paragraph breaks now.
Quoted because no-one else has commented on this in twenty whole minutes - and I think it's the most interesting thing posted in this thread for some time. What a statement. I want more replication studies!! Surely the WPI wouldn't make a statement like this unless they were getting good news from the people they were working with? But it sounded like the Wessely lot had heard negative things from other replication studies? Maybe it's a bluff from the WPI to get a few more months of selling expensive tests before they take the money and run? This is exciting stuff.