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Meirleir confirms XMRV findings in Europe

Rivotril

Senior Member
Messages
154
http://www.nieuws.be/nieuws/VUB-ond...chronisch_vermoeidheidssyndroom_6a743703.aspx

VUB-onderzoekers vinden nieuw virus bij patinten met chronisch vermoeidheidssyndroom
Onderzoekers van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) en van het Belgisch biotechnologiebedrijf R.E.D. Laboratories zijn erin geslaagd om een nieuw retrovirus te onderscheiden bij patinten met het chronisch vermoeidheidssyndroom (CFS/ME-patinten). Daarmee bevestigen ze recente Amerikaanse bevindingen hieromtrent. Dat meldt de VUB-persdienst dinsdag.

Amerikaanse onderzoekers van de University of Nevada ontdekten in oktober 2009 dat de meerderheid van de CFS/ME-patinten drager zijn van een nieuwe retrovirus XMRV. Deze onderzoeksresultaten zijn ook al bevestigd door de Harvard Medical School en het National Institute of Health (NIH). Nieuw bij het onderzoek onder leiding van VUB-professor De Meirleir is dat het virus werd aangetroffen bij CFS/ME-patinten uit heel Europa. Bovendien is de immunologische signatuur, een soort voetafdruk in het immuunsysteem, vergelijkbaar met die van symptomatische HIV-patinten. "Het lijkt erop dat voor de zowat 17 miljoen CFS/ME patinten-wereldwijd een einde komt aan een lange lijdensweg rond de erkenning van hun ziekte. De ontwikkeling van gerichte therapien is al volop aan de gang, zowel in Belgi als in het buitenland", zegt De Meirleir. Zijn nieuwe bevindingen worden op 7 en 8 september voorgesteld op een workshop van NIH in Washington.
 

Rivotril

Senior Member
Messages
154
google translate, seems fine to me at first sight

VUB researchers find new virus in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
Researchers at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and the Belgian biotech company Red Laboratories have succeeded in distinguishing a new retrovirus in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS / ME patients). Thus they confirm recent U.S. findings on this issue. VUB-Press Service reports that Tuesday.

U.S. researchers at the University of Nevada in October 2009 found that the majority of CFS / ME patients are carriers of a new retrovirus XMRV. These findings have also been confirmed by the Harvard Medical School and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). New to the study led by Professor De Meirleir VUB is that the virus was found in CFS / ME patients from across Europe. Moreover, the immunological signature, a kind of footprint in the immune system, is similar to that of symptomatic HIV patients. "It seems that for the roughly 17 million CFS / ME patients world-wide end to a long ordeal surrounding the recognition of their illness. The development of targeted therapies is already underway, both in Belgium and abroad" says De Meirleir.
His new findings on 7 September 8 and presented at a workshop of NIH in Washington.
 

Jemal

Senior Member
Messages
1,031
[cut out translation that contained at least 1 error, there's a better translation of this article on page 2 of this thread]

So it does look like the virus can actually swim or is intelligent enough to check in at airports ;)
 

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
this is amazing and wonderful news. is there any way to find his study? is it online? what is the name of the study?
 

Jemal

Senior Member
Messages
1,031
this is amazing and wonderful news. is there any way to find his study? is it online? what is the name of the study?

At the moment I can only find these two articles through Google. I hope more news will be forthcoming.
 

sensing progress

Senior Member
Messages
296
Location
Tucson, AZ
At the end of the Response in Science: Second Paper Supports Viral Link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome it says:
Many of the main players in the controversy plan to attend a workshop organized by NIH on 7 and 8 September. Mikovits, who is on the scientific committee, says she has seen the abstracts of two presentations confirming her findings. "I think it will be fun," she says.

Sounds like one of the abstracts she saw was these findings from Professor De Meirleir. :victory:
 

Recovery Soon

Senior Member
Messages
380
"It seems that for the roughly 17 million CFS / ME patients world-wide end to a long ordeal surrounding the recognition of their illness. ]

This is great news. On another post it said: "It looks like there's going to be an end to the suffering of 17 million CFS/ME patients worldwide" which got me even more excited.

My guess is the first one is the correct one.
 

Rivotril

Senior Member
Messages
154
http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=H92UEIJL&subsection=173

new article today, some additions:

Onderzoek naar CVS in stroomversnelling
woensdag 25 augustus 2010

BRUSSEL - Steeds meer wetenschappelijke studies linken het chronischevermoeidheidssyndroom aan een familie virussen.
Wetenschappers van de VUB en van het Belgische biotechnologiebedrijf R.E.D. Laboratories onderzochten onlangs CVS-patinten uit verschillende Europese landen, waaronder Belgi, Noorwegen en Zweden. Hun resultaten bevestigen recente Amerikaanse bevindingen: dat de meeste mensen die lijden aan het chronischevermoeidheidssyndroom drager zijn van een retrovirus. Retrovirussen, waaronder ook het aidsvirus, bedden zich in ons genetisch materiaal in.

Het waren onderzoekers van de universiteit van Nevada die eind vorig jaar als eersten publiceerden over de link tussen CVS en virussen. 67 van de 101 gescreende patinten bleken besmet met het XMRV-gammaretrovirus, dat bij gezonde mensen nauwelijks voorkomt. De onderzoekers veronderstelden dat het via bloedtransfusies wordt doorgegeven.

Vier studies die daarna werden uitgevoerd, vonden geen link, maar in mei bevestigden onderzoekers van de National Institutes of Health die bevindingen wel.

Op vraag van de Amerikanen ging men ook in Engeland en in Brussel aan de slag. ‘Ze wilden nagaan of het om een lokaal fenomeen ging', aldus professor Kenny De Meirleir, die het VUB-onderzoek leidde. Neen dus: in beide studies werden bij de meeste patinten gammaretrovirussen gevonden.

Het is te vroeg om van een definitieve doorbraak te spreken, maar De Meirleir heeft er een goed oog in. ‘Het lijkt erop dat er voor de naar schatting 17 miljoen CVS-patinten in de wereld een einde komt aan de lange lijdensweg inzake erkenning van hun ziekte.'

CVS-patinten kampen met onder meer oververmoeidheid, ontstekingen van het ruggenmerg, spier-, keel- en hoofdpijn. Maar CVS, dat vier keer meer vrouwen dan mannen treft, wordt nog vaak beschouwd als een psychische aandoening. Zo gaat het doorgaans met ziektebeelden waarvoor geen duidelijke oorzaak wordt gevonden. Er is ook geen afdoende behandeling. Als De Meirleir en zijn collega's gelijk krijgen, kan dat veranderen. ‘Dan is CVS iets als chronische hepatitis.' En krijgt de aandoening ook een andere naam. ‘Mogelijk GRD — gamma retroviral disease.'
 

Rivotril

Senior Member
Messages
154
translated to English:


Research in CFS into higher gear
Wednesday, August 25, 2010

BRUSSELS - More and more scientific studies link chronic fatigue syndrome to a family of viruses.

Scientists from the Free University of Brussels (VUB) , and the Belgian biotech company RED Laboratories recently examined CFS patients from different European countries, including Belgium, Norway and Sweden. Their results confirm recent U.S. findings: that most people who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome are carriers of a retrovirus. Retroviruses, including the AIDS virus, bed into our genetic material.

There were researchers from the University of Nevada at the end of last year were who first published about the link between CFS and viruses. 67 of the 101 screened patients were infected with the retrovirus XMRV, that is largely absent in healthy people. The researchers assumed that it is passed through blood transfusions.

Four studies were subsequently conducted, found no link, but in May researchers from the National Institutes of Health confirmed findings which do.

At the request of the Americans, the scientists also got to work in England and in Brussels. "They wanted to know whether it was a local phenomenon," said Professor Kenny De Meirleir, who led the VUB research. It wasn’t: In both studies, there were found gamma retroviruses at most patients.

It is too early for a final breakthrough to talk, but De Meirleir has a good eye. "It seems that for the estimated 17 million patients in the CVS world an end to the long agony of recognition of their illness."

CFS patients suffer from include fatigue, inflammation of the spinal cord, muscle and throat and headache. CFS, that hits women four times more than men, yet is often considered a mental illness. This is what usually happens with diseases for which no obvious cause is found. There is no effective treatment. As the Kenny and his colleagues proved right, this can change that. "Then CFS is something like chronic hepatitis." And the disease gets a different name. "Possibly GRD - gamma retroviral disease."
 

Rivotril

Senior Member
Messages
154
i dunno.. but i remember the h2s thing:
first press release, then some presentations...
so he doesnt have a quite "regular" way of bringing things...

but i think that (and this is a just thought) he did the test red labs "learned" from Vipdx and maybe also the Antibody test from Vipdx (which was just released for commercial purposes, (but was maybe ready for quite a while and they waited with it until the Lo paper) and maybe Redlabs could already work with it for studying those patients)
i do not know anything about it, just totally guessing...
think that we have to wait till september conference to know more
 

anciendaze

Senior Member
Messages
1,841
I notice that this reporter is now talking about a group at the U. of Nevada instead of WPI. (Of course the WPI has always been at U. of N.) I believe this indicates this announcement is being taken more seriously.
 

Jemal

Senior Member
Messages
1,031
This is great news. On another post it said: "It looks like there's going to be an end to the suffering of 17 million CFS/ME patients worldwide" which got me even more excited.

My guess is the first one is the correct one.

Yes, the first one is correct. The second one was my (sloppy) translation. Unfortunately I made a couple of errors yesterday, darn foggy brain. I removed my translation as Rivotril has done a better job. Sorry!

Still exciting times.