Please copy and past the Press Release below written by Tina Tidmore that discusses the Retroviroloy study that found XMRV in various organs of monkey organs. The Retrovirus left the blood in days but found its way into several organs. This study must be used to counter the very DEADLY Lancet study by Wessely, et all.
Please send this PR all over. Also, grab the http://www.virology.ws/2011/02/17/xmrv-infection-of-rhesus-macaques/ and put that into the PR as well.
We must counter the Lancelt study. I do believe, and wrote the researcher, that CTB/GET is the means by which the UK is trying to literally kill off the ME/CFS sick. Call them crazy/lazy (CBT) and then force their very sick bodies into doing very dangerous things that WILL kill them (GET). (provided below the MCWPA information to make it easy for you)
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CONTACT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tina Tidmore
205-680-6890
Media@mcwpa.org
Study Shows XMRV, a Human Retrovirus Similar to HIV,
Causes Chronic Infection
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients have Hope that Research is Finding Answers
CORAL GABLES, FLA., FEB. 19 - On Feb. 16, the Journal of Virology published a study that shows the recently-discovered human retrovirus, XMRV, leads to chronic infection in multiple body organs.
Previous peer-reviewed studies show a link between XMRV and patients with aggressive prostate cancer and ME/CFS, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.
The study from the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine shows Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-related Virus (XMRV) can be found in the spleen, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, lymph nodes and sex organs after being injected into the body.
Additionally, the monkeys in the study produced antibodies to fight the infection. Chronic infection and immune system reaction are also common in the two other infectious human retroviruses: HTLV-1 and HIV.
"This brings hope that answers to this disease are within reach, said Tina Tidmore, spokesperson for the ME/CFS Worldwide Patient Alliance (MCWPA), a grassroots patient advocacy group. For the sake of those who have been left to suffer and with the goal of protecting the blood supply, government
leaders need to seize this opportunity and immediately fund more research into this retrovirus and the ME/CFS disease process." In 2010, an FDA/National Institutes of Health study showed XMRV-related retroviruses in 6.8% of blood donors tested, indicating as many as 20 million Americans could be
infected.
ME/CFS is Disabling and Chronic
ME/CFS is a disabling NeuroEndocrineImmune disease that afflicts more than 1 million Americans and an estimated l7 million people around the world. Patients are often confined to wheelchairs or become bedbound. Common symptoms include profound exhaustion after performing simple tasks, sudden
plunging blood pressure, cognitive dysfunction, migraines and daily flu-like symptoms. The illness strikes men and women, young and old, and is incurable.
ME/CFS first came to national attention during the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, when a cluster outbreak of the illness occurred in Incline Village, Nev. and Lyndonville, New York. A 1991 Wistar Institute study also showed a link to a retrovirus, but the government later halted their retroviral research.
In 2009, the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI) at the University of Nevada, Reno, working with the National Cancer Institute and Cleveland Clinic, published a trailblazing study that found an HIV-like retrovirus, XMRV, in the blood of 67% of ME/CFS patients and in 3.7% of healthy controls.
Meanwhile, though more than 4,000 peer-reviewed articles in medical journals have shown system-wide immune, neurological, endocrine, gastro-intestinal and cardiac abnormalities in patients, the general public is largely unaware of the gravity and prevalence of ME/CFS. In addition, the US government has
chronically underfunded research. In the National Institutes of Health budget for 2012, just $6 million is allocated for ME/CFS research, compared to $135 million for multiple sclerosis and $114 million for lupus. Yet twice as many people suffer from ME/CFS than multiple sclerosis.
For more information, and spokespeople, including leading researchers, scientists, physicians, patients, and historians, visit http://mcwpa.org/.
# # #
About MCWPA: Our mission is to create an effective, cutting-edge advertising campaign addressing the poor quality of life of individuals with ME/CFS. By issuing a collective and unified statement, our community will no longer be silent and invisible. The MCWPA ad campaign is supported by P.A.N.D.O.R.A. Inc., Vermont CFIDS Association, Inc., R.E.S.C.I.N.D., Rocky Mountain CFS/ME and FM Association and the Wisconsin ME/CFS Association, Inc
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XMRV infection of Rhesus macaques
http://www.virology.ws/2011/02/17/xmrv-infection-of-rhesus-macaques/
submitted by Vincent Racaniello on February 17, 2011
Tags: cfs, viral, virology, virus, xmrv
Source: www.virology.ws
The first detailed study of infection of nonhuman primates with the retrovirus XMRV reveals that the virus establishes a persistent infection characterized by infection of multiple tissues. Viremia (virus in the blood) is low and transient, with proviral DNA detectable in blood lymphocytes. The results show that the Rhesus macaque can be used to study XMRV infection, transmission, vaccines, and antiviral drugs.
XMRV infection of Rhesus macaques17 February 2011
The first detailed study of infection of nonhuman primates with the retrovirus XMRV reveals that the virus establishes a persistent infection characterized by infection of multiple tissues. Viremia (virus in the blood) is low and transient, with proviral DNA detectable in blood lymphocytes. The results show that the Rhesus macaque can be used to study XMRV infection, transmission, vaccines, and antiviral drugs.
The subject of this study, the Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), was selected because of its evolutionary proximity to humans and a comparable immune system. The monkeys used did not have antibodies to the capsid protein p30 of XMRV, indicating that they were not previously infected. Animals were inoculated intravenously with 3.6 million TCID50 of purified XMRV a good amount of virus, to ensure infection. The virus used, VP62, was produced by transfecting cells with cloned viral DNA isolated from human prostate.
Virus in the plasma fraction of blood was assayed by quantitative RT-PCR. Of three animals infected, virus was detected in one animal at day 4 and not after day 14; and in a second animal from days 14-20. The third animal did not develop detectable viremia. Proviral DNA was found in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of all three monkeys for 3-4 weeks, indicating successful infection. At one month post-infection proviral DNA was no longer detected. Plasma virus was again detected in one of the positive animals on day 291, 16 days after being immunized with a mixture of XMRV proteins. This means that viral DNA had been present in this animal but was not detected. XMRV was detected in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and NK cells, but not in B cells or monocytes.
Rhesus macaques infected with XMRV did not display obvious clinical symptoms. Analysis of peripheral blood revealed increases in the number of circulating B and NK cells. Anti-viral antibody titers were detected after infection and re-infection of animals but soon decreased.
Other infected animals were sacrificed during the acute phase of infection to identify pathological changes and sites of virus replication. No pathogenic consequences were observed except for the formation of germinal centers in spleen and lymphoid organs, changes that are expected after immune stimulation. Virus was detected in a wide variety of tissues, including spleen, lymph nodes, the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, prostate, testis, cervix, vagina, and pancreas, but not in others including brain, heart, kidney, and bladder. Different types of cells were infected in different tissues: lymphocytes in lymphoid organs, macrophages in lung, epithelial or interstitial cells in other organs. The authors note that this viral behavior appears specific to this virus.
Here are some other comments and conclusions drawn from this study:
The authors suggest that in Rhesus macaques, XMRV causes first an acute infection, followed by a persistent chronic infection. A persistent infection lasts for long periods of time; a chronic infection is a persistent infection that is eventually cleared. Since the monkeys in this study were all sacrificed, its not possible to determine if the infection was cleared.
The presence of XMRV in certain blood cells resembles the pattern in a cohort of ME/CFS patients Virus is present in the prostate early in acute infection XMRV was identified in prostate tumors The presence of XMRV in reproductive tract tissues is consistent with sexual transmission of infection After the acute phase, virus levels are very low, but there could be a different outcome in individuals with immune dysfunction One animal produced virus after immunization; perhaps immune activation results in cycles of virus production The virus has an initial acute phase followed by reactivation. The authors comment: While our study has not linked XMRV infection with pathogenic mechanisms that might lead to prostate cancer or chronic fatigue syndrome, we submit that such link, assuming it exists, would be a temporally distant one.
It would be informative to determine if XMRV is present in some of the same tissues in humans that were observed to be infected in rhesus macaques
Because the study involved only a small number of monkeys (8), the experiments should be repeated with additional animals, and in different laboratories, to verify the findings. I also wonder if the choice of the intravenous inoculation route had an effect on the pattern of infection and tropism. It is well known that viral pathogenesis can be determined by how the virus enters the host. For example, the same virus may replicate in different tissues, or have different virulence, when inoculated in different ways. This question can be readily addressed by inoculating rhesus macaques via different routes.
Studying viral pathogenesis (the series of events that occur during viral infection of a host) in animals is essential for understanding how viruses cause disease in humans. However, the results of such studies must always be interpreted with caution, because what is true in an animal is not always true for a human. For example, simple differences in size, metabolism, and development can have substantial effects on pathogenesis.
Onlamoon, N, DasGupta, J, Sharma, P, Rogers, K, Suppiah, S, Rhea, J, Molinaro, RJ, Gaughan, C, Dong, B, Klein, E, Qui, X, Devare, S, Schochetman, G, Hackett, J, Silverman, R, & Villinger, F (2011). Infection, viral dissemination and antibody responses of Rhesus macaques exposed to the human gammaretrovirus XMRV Journal of Virology
Please send this PR all over. Also, grab the http://www.virology.ws/2011/02/17/xmrv-infection-of-rhesus-macaques/ and put that into the PR as well.
We must counter the Lancelt study. I do believe, and wrote the researcher, that CTB/GET is the means by which the UK is trying to literally kill off the ME/CFS sick. Call them crazy/lazy (CBT) and then force their very sick bodies into doing very dangerous things that WILL kill them (GET). (provided below the MCWPA information to make it easy for you)
------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tina Tidmore
205-680-6890
Media@mcwpa.org
Study Shows XMRV, a Human Retrovirus Similar to HIV,
Causes Chronic Infection
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients have Hope that Research is Finding Answers
CORAL GABLES, FLA., FEB. 19 - On Feb. 16, the Journal of Virology published a study that shows the recently-discovered human retrovirus, XMRV, leads to chronic infection in multiple body organs.
Previous peer-reviewed studies show a link between XMRV and patients with aggressive prostate cancer and ME/CFS, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.
The study from the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine shows Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-related Virus (XMRV) can be found in the spleen, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, lymph nodes and sex organs after being injected into the body.
Additionally, the monkeys in the study produced antibodies to fight the infection. Chronic infection and immune system reaction are also common in the two other infectious human retroviruses: HTLV-1 and HIV.
"This brings hope that answers to this disease are within reach, said Tina Tidmore, spokesperson for the ME/CFS Worldwide Patient Alliance (MCWPA), a grassroots patient advocacy group. For the sake of those who have been left to suffer and with the goal of protecting the blood supply, government
leaders need to seize this opportunity and immediately fund more research into this retrovirus and the ME/CFS disease process." In 2010, an FDA/National Institutes of Health study showed XMRV-related retroviruses in 6.8% of blood donors tested, indicating as many as 20 million Americans could be
infected.
ME/CFS is Disabling and Chronic
ME/CFS is a disabling NeuroEndocrineImmune disease that afflicts more than 1 million Americans and an estimated l7 million people around the world. Patients are often confined to wheelchairs or become bedbound. Common symptoms include profound exhaustion after performing simple tasks, sudden
plunging blood pressure, cognitive dysfunction, migraines and daily flu-like symptoms. The illness strikes men and women, young and old, and is incurable.
ME/CFS first came to national attention during the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, when a cluster outbreak of the illness occurred in Incline Village, Nev. and Lyndonville, New York. A 1991 Wistar Institute study also showed a link to a retrovirus, but the government later halted their retroviral research.
In 2009, the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI) at the University of Nevada, Reno, working with the National Cancer Institute and Cleveland Clinic, published a trailblazing study that found an HIV-like retrovirus, XMRV, in the blood of 67% of ME/CFS patients and in 3.7% of healthy controls.
Meanwhile, though more than 4,000 peer-reviewed articles in medical journals have shown system-wide immune, neurological, endocrine, gastro-intestinal and cardiac abnormalities in patients, the general public is largely unaware of the gravity and prevalence of ME/CFS. In addition, the US government has
chronically underfunded research. In the National Institutes of Health budget for 2012, just $6 million is allocated for ME/CFS research, compared to $135 million for multiple sclerosis and $114 million for lupus. Yet twice as many people suffer from ME/CFS than multiple sclerosis.
For more information, and spokespeople, including leading researchers, scientists, physicians, patients, and historians, visit http://mcwpa.org/.
# # #
About MCWPA: Our mission is to create an effective, cutting-edge advertising campaign addressing the poor quality of life of individuals with ME/CFS. By issuing a collective and unified statement, our community will no longer be silent and invisible. The MCWPA ad campaign is supported by P.A.N.D.O.R.A. Inc., Vermont CFIDS Association, Inc., R.E.S.C.I.N.D., Rocky Mountain CFS/ME and FM Association and the Wisconsin ME/CFS Association, Inc
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
XMRV infection of Rhesus macaques
http://www.virology.ws/2011/02/17/xmrv-infection-of-rhesus-macaques/
submitted by Vincent Racaniello on February 17, 2011
Tags: cfs, viral, virology, virus, xmrv
Source: www.virology.ws
The first detailed study of infection of nonhuman primates with the retrovirus XMRV reveals that the virus establishes a persistent infection characterized by infection of multiple tissues. Viremia (virus in the blood) is low and transient, with proviral DNA detectable in blood lymphocytes. The results show that the Rhesus macaque can be used to study XMRV infection, transmission, vaccines, and antiviral drugs.
XMRV infection of Rhesus macaques17 February 2011
The first detailed study of infection of nonhuman primates with the retrovirus XMRV reveals that the virus establishes a persistent infection characterized by infection of multiple tissues. Viremia (virus in the blood) is low and transient, with proviral DNA detectable in blood lymphocytes. The results show that the Rhesus macaque can be used to study XMRV infection, transmission, vaccines, and antiviral drugs.
The subject of this study, the Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), was selected because of its evolutionary proximity to humans and a comparable immune system. The monkeys used did not have antibodies to the capsid protein p30 of XMRV, indicating that they were not previously infected. Animals were inoculated intravenously with 3.6 million TCID50 of purified XMRV a good amount of virus, to ensure infection. The virus used, VP62, was produced by transfecting cells with cloned viral DNA isolated from human prostate.
Virus in the plasma fraction of blood was assayed by quantitative RT-PCR. Of three animals infected, virus was detected in one animal at day 4 and not after day 14; and in a second animal from days 14-20. The third animal did not develop detectable viremia. Proviral DNA was found in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of all three monkeys for 3-4 weeks, indicating successful infection. At one month post-infection proviral DNA was no longer detected. Plasma virus was again detected in one of the positive animals on day 291, 16 days after being immunized with a mixture of XMRV proteins. This means that viral DNA had been present in this animal but was not detected. XMRV was detected in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and NK cells, but not in B cells or monocytes.
Rhesus macaques infected with XMRV did not display obvious clinical symptoms. Analysis of peripheral blood revealed increases in the number of circulating B and NK cells. Anti-viral antibody titers were detected after infection and re-infection of animals but soon decreased.
Other infected animals were sacrificed during the acute phase of infection to identify pathological changes and sites of virus replication. No pathogenic consequences were observed except for the formation of germinal centers in spleen and lymphoid organs, changes that are expected after immune stimulation. Virus was detected in a wide variety of tissues, including spleen, lymph nodes, the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, prostate, testis, cervix, vagina, and pancreas, but not in others including brain, heart, kidney, and bladder. Different types of cells were infected in different tissues: lymphocytes in lymphoid organs, macrophages in lung, epithelial or interstitial cells in other organs. The authors note that this viral behavior appears specific to this virus.
Here are some other comments and conclusions drawn from this study:
The authors suggest that in Rhesus macaques, XMRV causes first an acute infection, followed by a persistent chronic infection. A persistent infection lasts for long periods of time; a chronic infection is a persistent infection that is eventually cleared. Since the monkeys in this study were all sacrificed, its not possible to determine if the infection was cleared.
The presence of XMRV in certain blood cells resembles the pattern in a cohort of ME/CFS patients Virus is present in the prostate early in acute infection XMRV was identified in prostate tumors The presence of XMRV in reproductive tract tissues is consistent with sexual transmission of infection After the acute phase, virus levels are very low, but there could be a different outcome in individuals with immune dysfunction One animal produced virus after immunization; perhaps immune activation results in cycles of virus production The virus has an initial acute phase followed by reactivation. The authors comment: While our study has not linked XMRV infection with pathogenic mechanisms that might lead to prostate cancer or chronic fatigue syndrome, we submit that such link, assuming it exists, would be a temporally distant one.
It would be informative to determine if XMRV is present in some of the same tissues in humans that were observed to be infected in rhesus macaques
Because the study involved only a small number of monkeys (8), the experiments should be repeated with additional animals, and in different laboratories, to verify the findings. I also wonder if the choice of the intravenous inoculation route had an effect on the pattern of infection and tropism. It is well known that viral pathogenesis can be determined by how the virus enters the host. For example, the same virus may replicate in different tissues, or have different virulence, when inoculated in different ways. This question can be readily addressed by inoculating rhesus macaques via different routes.
Studying viral pathogenesis (the series of events that occur during viral infection of a host) in animals is essential for understanding how viruses cause disease in humans. However, the results of such studies must always be interpreted with caution, because what is true in an animal is not always true for a human. For example, simple differences in size, metabolism, and development can have substantial effects on pathogenesis.
Onlamoon, N, DasGupta, J, Sharma, P, Rogers, K, Suppiah, S, Rhea, J, Molinaro, RJ, Gaughan, C, Dong, B, Klein, E, Qui, X, Devare, S, Schochetman, G, Hackett, J, Silverman, R, & Villinger, F (2011). Infection, viral dissemination and antibody responses of Rhesus macaques exposed to the human gammaretrovirus XMRV Journal of Virology
