okay, i'm going to start compiling the questions. here is a start:
Due to the fact that XMRV is stimulated by cortisol, estrogen and androgens:
1. Is it true that XMRV prefers progesterone to replicate and that is why CFIDS and FMS affects more women than men?
2. Should people not take any estrogen or progestrone supplements, including post menopausal women? (e.g. estradiol to keep from having hot flashes, progesterone IUD)
3. If cortisol increases xmrv replication, would meds that directly or indirectly stimulate Cortisol production be good or bad for us, like hydrocortisone supplementation, or licorice root extract? Would these be a concern even if it's treating a deficiency?
4. The same question on Thyroid supplementation (since it pushes the adrenals) as well please.
5. wondering if it is NOT a good idea to take supplemental DHEA even though my androgen levels are undetectable?
6. Can men who are XMRV+ and who have signs of neuro immune disease (CFS/ME) have their progesterone measured to compare their progesterone levels with healthy XMRV- controls?
7. Why are people with CFS/ME reporting lower than normal cortisol levels, and/or abnormal ACTH stimulation tests? Where does the cortisol go? Does XMRV 'use' it? Or does XMRV impair adrenal gland function through organ (adrenal gland) infection?
8. What are the base line levels of DHEA and DHEA-S in XMRV+ males and females, compared to healthy controls?
9. but does xmrv eat your hormones? Or does your body downregulate it for protection?
10. Can you comment on this quote: "Perhaps its the cyclical change in progesterone levels in females that provokes XMRV replication, whereas in males testosterone levels are mostly static? Or perhaps the relationship is more specific than "androgen stimulates XMRV" - perhaps its a specific type of Androgen, or its dependent on receptor expression which is different between the sexes. Like everything with this disease, hormone relationship to XMRV is likely way more complicated than "we have more or less of this or that androgen"
11. Can you comment on this quote: "I'm a gradual onset male who got servery worse upon starting testosterone supplementation in hopes of giving me energy. It seemed reasonable at the time. I'm pretty sure that was the trigger to my decline and not anything else. Unfortunately stopping the testosterone hasn't helped which if it caused XMRV to transcribe and replicate." And this quote, "I can say that my doctor put me on hydrocortisone and testosterone last year for several months and I'm more disabled than before, thank you doc... I stopped it all few months ago but I'm not back to where I was, sadly, I'm quite sure the hormones did that"
12. good scientific summary of xmrv's ability to mimic progesterone found here
http://cfidsresearch.blogspot.com/2009/11/modus-operandi-of-xmrv-pt1.html: "So, as a molecular biologist, it leaves me to theorize that if this virus can mimic progesterone, it can create a state that allows the immune system to ignore the virus, very much like it ignores a developing fetus - scary isn't it? Observations reveal that high rates of estrogen, or high rates of testosterone in the absence of progesterone tend to favor the growth of XMRV - progesterone inhibits the formation of DHT. It seems to indicate that succeptibility to ME/CFS is strongly hormone driven, and why ME/CFS and FM are strongly female prevalent." QUESTION: Is this molecular biologist's thinking on track or off track?