As I was wandering through and posting recent research, this synthesis of thoughts emerged. Not sure if this is the right section, if not, mods, please feel free to move.
Thought I would share my hopes with you:
(sorry - the formatting didn't transfer over. I'll do waht I can, but haven't got much energy left. It might be easier to view it here http://www.facebook.com/notes/xmrv-...ould-we-become-a-significant-pla/433892711796 )
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The idea that Canada may be ready to join in XMRV ME/CFS research to a significant level is pure inference, speculation and hope on my part.
I first noticed that one of the 3-part package that PNAS published with the FDA/NIH/Harvard paper included a commentary from French researchers and one Canadian, Andrew L Mason from the University of Alberta, and I experienced some patriotic hope that Canada would be entering the research story more fully. This hope is also selfish - I'm hoping for a study I can join that will hopefully fast-track my return to health.
In the article, this group states that it is appropriate now to:
1. determine the frequency of MLV infection in patients with CFS.
2. determine the human to human transmission potential
3. start antiretroviral trials
4. determine if XMRV causes ME/CFS
And then I noticed that for Dr Stein's new study, trying to determine if XMRV is the cause of ME/CFS, she will be joined by
I looked into M Houghton, and found that he is an eminent scientist. He discovered the hepatitus C virus. http://www.cerc.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/houghton-eng.shtml And the Canada Excellence Research Chair position brings $10 million a year to his program. http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/...wardedfourCanadaExcellenceResearchChairs.aspx
This partnership also intrigued me as I remembered lightly researching the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology in the spring, when word of this study first came out, and hoping that it would engage in ME/CFS research. So I found the article below to refresh my memory.
On looking a bit deeper though, A L Mason, of the PNAS article
So it seems that the University of Alberta has 2 different incursions into XMRV research
1. A L Mason through the Dept of Medicine and the above funders urging looking at trialling antiretrovirals, and finding causation, transmission and prevalence. I hope that this PNAS article indicates that they are ready to undertake some of these studies themselves.
2. LTyrrell & M Houghton in the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology at U of A, along with E Stein, seeing if XMRV is causal. And, given the people involved in this study, the words for a preliminary study next month in the news article, the funding that the Chair of Excellence & the Li Ka Shing Institute bring, and the intentions of the U of A and the LKS Institute to be world leaders in 'virus-based diseases' - it seems quite hopeful that further studies into XMRV will start soon out and that U of A may ride the crest of this emerging new disease research field.
And then there is Paul Jolicouer, one of Canadas virologists, at the University of Montreal. I found information from 2001 that he was looking at MAIDS
After that, all I can track is rumours; rumours that he did a study looking for XMRC in ME/CFS patients last winter that came up negative, and rumours that he was not discouraged and was proceeding with another study. However, when I found his faculty listing, there is no mention of this in his list of current studies.
So I am hopeful that the rumours are true, and that with the global race to be the first in on XMRV & family research, P Jolicoeur will get funding to examine XMRV et al and ME/CFS.
Thought I would share my hopes with you:
(sorry - the formatting didn't transfer over. I'll do waht I can, but haven't got much energy left. It might be easier to view it here http://www.facebook.com/notes/xmrv-...ould-we-become-a-significant-pla/433892711796 )
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The idea that Canada may be ready to join in XMRV ME/CFS research to a significant level is pure inference, speculation and hope on my part.
I first noticed that one of the 3-part package that PNAS published with the FDA/NIH/Harvard paper included a commentary from French researchers and one Canadian, Andrew L Mason from the University of Alberta, and I experienced some patriotic hope that Canada would be entering the research story more fully. This hope is also selfish - I'm hoping for a study I can join that will hopefully fast-track my return to health.
In the article, this group states that it is appropriate now to:
1. determine the frequency of MLV infection in patients with CFS.
2. determine the human to human transmission potential
3. start antiretroviral trials
4. determine if XMRV causes ME/CFS
Mouse retroviruses and chronic fatigue syndrome:
Does X (or P) mark the spot?
Valerie Courgnauda, Jean-Luc Battinia, Marc Sitbona,1, and Andrew L. Masonb,1
aInstitut de Gntique Molculaire de Montpellier, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unit Mixte de Recherche 5535, Universite Montpellier 1 and 2, F-34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France; and bDepartment of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2E1
At this juncture, it would seem reasonable to conduct extensive case-control studies in North America, as suggested by Lo et al (6), using coded control samples from subjects with inflammatory disease to determine the frequency of MLV infection in patients with CFS.
The potential transmission of MLV-related sequences from human to human should also be epidemiologically evaluated.
As we currently lack postulates to prove a causal association with a prevalent agent and a chronic disease with genetic predisposition, it would also be appropriate to conduct interventional studies. Indeed, the Helicobacter pylori hypothesis of peptic ulcer disease was only accepted after Barry Marshall showed that bacterial eradication with antibiotics cured peptic ulcer disease (21). Studies to gain proof of principle have been performed with antivirals in other chronic, idiopathic diseases linked to retroviral infection, such as primary biliary cirrhosis associated with mouse mammary tumor virus, another possible murine zoonosis (22). Trials using a combination of reverse transcriptase inhibitors led to significant improvements in clinical, histological, and biochemical outcomes in these patients, albeit with some evidence of viral resistance to therapy (23). Such studies are now feasible for CFS, because reverse-transcriptase inhibitors, such as tenofovir and emtracitabine, and the integrase inhibitor raltegravir can inhibit XMRV (24).
The caveats for conducting clinical trials in patients with CFS and MLV infection are that the potential benefits of treatment should outweigh the risks; also, studies should be conducted as randomized controlled trials with meaningful and feasible endpoints using robust therapies. At this juncture, studies to establish proof of principle are justified to determine
whether safe antiviral regimens can impact on CFS
and to determine whether xenotropic or polytropic MLV is causally associatedwith this debilitating disease.
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/08/16/1007944107.full.pdf+html
Does X (or P) mark the spot?
Valerie Courgnauda, Jean-Luc Battinia, Marc Sitbona,1, and Andrew L. Masonb,1
aInstitut de Gntique Molculaire de Montpellier, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unit Mixte de Recherche 5535, Universite Montpellier 1 and 2, F-34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France; and bDepartment of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2E1
At this juncture, it would seem reasonable to conduct extensive case-control studies in North America, as suggested by Lo et al (6), using coded control samples from subjects with inflammatory disease to determine the frequency of MLV infection in patients with CFS.
The potential transmission of MLV-related sequences from human to human should also be epidemiologically evaluated.
As we currently lack postulates to prove a causal association with a prevalent agent and a chronic disease with genetic predisposition, it would also be appropriate to conduct interventional studies. Indeed, the Helicobacter pylori hypothesis of peptic ulcer disease was only accepted after Barry Marshall showed that bacterial eradication with antibiotics cured peptic ulcer disease (21). Studies to gain proof of principle have been performed with antivirals in other chronic, idiopathic diseases linked to retroviral infection, such as primary biliary cirrhosis associated with mouse mammary tumor virus, another possible murine zoonosis (22). Trials using a combination of reverse transcriptase inhibitors led to significant improvements in clinical, histological, and biochemical outcomes in these patients, albeit with some evidence of viral resistance to therapy (23). Such studies are now feasible for CFS, because reverse-transcriptase inhibitors, such as tenofovir and emtracitabine, and the integrase inhibitor raltegravir can inhibit XMRV (24).
The caveats for conducting clinical trials in patients with CFS and MLV infection are that the potential benefits of treatment should outweigh the risks; also, studies should be conducted as randomized controlled trials with meaningful and feasible endpoints using robust therapies. At this juncture, studies to establish proof of principle are justified to determine
whether safe antiviral regimens can impact on CFS
and to determine whether xenotropic or polytropic MLV is causally associatedwith this debilitating disease.
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/08/16/1007944107.full.pdf+html
And then I noticed that for Dr Stein's new study, trying to determine if XMRV is the cause of ME/CFS, she will be joined by
Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, founding director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology in Edmonton, and Dr. Michael Houghton of the University of Alberta, who holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology for a preliminary study next month.,..
http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2010/08/26/15154261.html
http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2010/08/26/15154261.html
I looked into M Houghton, and found that he is an eminent scientist. He discovered the hepatitus C virus. http://www.cerc.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/houghton-eng.shtml And the Canada Excellence Research Chair position brings $10 million a year to his program. http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/...wardedfourCanadaExcellenceResearchChairs.aspx
This partnership also intrigued me as I remembered lightly researching the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology in the spring, when word of this study first came out, and hoping that it would engage in ME/CFS research. So I found the article below to refresh my memory.
The Power of Partnership: Li Ka Shing Foundation gift and Government of Alberta funding to establish virology institute at University of Alberta
April 23, 2010 Steven Heipel, director of public affairs
EdmontonThe University of Alberta will take a big step forward in its efforts to treat and cure virus-based diseases thanks to a $28-million gift from the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation and $52.5 million in new related funding from the Government of Alberta. The donationthe largest cash gift in the universitys historywill help establish the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology and add the U of A to a global health science research network facilitated by the Li Ka Shing Foundation (LKSF).
This generous gift, along with the funding from the Government of Alberta, represents a truly transformative moment in the U of As history, said Indira Samarasekera, president and vice-chancellor of the university. Our researchers have been at the forefront of virology research for decades, including Dr. Lorne Tyrrell and his work developing a treatment for hepatitis B. The Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology will provide a state-of-the-art home to some of the worlds very best researchers in virus-based diseases and will help place the university in its rightful place among top centres of such work.
Along with developing new drugs and vaccines, the institute will seek to attract significant private sector collaboration with multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences companies.
http://www.ualberta.ca/SIGNATURE/LiKaShingCentre.html
http://www.lksf.org/eng/media/press/20100423.shtml
April 23, 2010 Steven Heipel, director of public affairs
EdmontonThe University of Alberta will take a big step forward in its efforts to treat and cure virus-based diseases thanks to a $28-million gift from the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation and $52.5 million in new related funding from the Government of Alberta. The donationthe largest cash gift in the universitys historywill help establish the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology and add the U of A to a global health science research network facilitated by the Li Ka Shing Foundation (LKSF).
This generous gift, along with the funding from the Government of Alberta, represents a truly transformative moment in the U of As history, said Indira Samarasekera, president and vice-chancellor of the university. Our researchers have been at the forefront of virology research for decades, including Dr. Lorne Tyrrell and his work developing a treatment for hepatitis B. The Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology will provide a state-of-the-art home to some of the worlds very best researchers in virus-based diseases and will help place the university in its rightful place among top centres of such work.
Along with developing new drugs and vaccines, the institute will seek to attract significant private sector collaboration with multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences companies.
http://www.ualberta.ca/SIGNATURE/LiKaShingCentre.html
http://www.lksf.org/eng/media/press/20100423.shtml
On looking a bit deeper though, A L Mason, of the PNAS article
is supported by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Broad Foundation, Canadian Liver Foundation, and Canadian Institute of Health Research.
So it seems that the University of Alberta has 2 different incursions into XMRV research
1. A L Mason through the Dept of Medicine and the above funders urging looking at trialling antiretrovirals, and finding causation, transmission and prevalence. I hope that this PNAS article indicates that they are ready to undertake some of these studies themselves.
2. LTyrrell & M Houghton in the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology at U of A, along with E Stein, seeing if XMRV is causal. And, given the people involved in this study, the words for a preliminary study next month in the news article, the funding that the Chair of Excellence & the Li Ka Shing Institute bring, and the intentions of the U of A and the LKS Institute to be world leaders in 'virus-based diseases' - it seems quite hopeful that further studies into XMRV will start soon out and that U of A may ride the crest of this emerging new disease research field.
And then there is Paul Jolicouer, one of Canadas virologists, at the University of Montreal. I found information from 2001 that he was looking at MAIDS
Jolicur hopes his probing into retroviruses will give him insight into both HIV and another AIDS-like virus known as MAIDS. This is a mouse retrovirus that causes a mild immune deficiency and lymphoma -caused by an infection of the B-cells.
http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileID=376
http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileID=376
After that, all I can track is rumours; rumours that he did a study looking for XMRC in ME/CFS patients last winter that came up negative, and rumours that he was not discouraged and was proceeding with another study. However, when I found his faculty listing, there is no mention of this in his list of current studies.
Theme(s)
Studies on the pathogenesis of AIDS
Oncogenes involved in leukemia and breast cancer
1- Identification and characterization of new oncogenes: The murine leukemia viruses (MuLV) frequently induce leukemia in inoculated mice. Their provirus act as insertional mutagens and activate endogenous proto-oncogenes or inactivate tumor suppressor genes. We are using this mutagenic approach to identify and characterize novel oncogenes involved in T cell leukemia.
2- Role of NOTCH1 in mammary tumor development: We use Tg mice expressing an activated oncogene (Notch1) in the mammary gland and developing mammary tumors to study the role of the cancer stem cells in tumor growth.
3- AIDS: We study an AIDS-like disease in Tg mice expressing HIV genes. Our work aims at identifying the contribution of distinct immune cell populations to the different phenotypes observed in these Tg mice. Moreover, our studies aim at identifying the host signaling pathways required for the development of this syndrome.
http://www.biochimie.umontreal.ca/bottin411/Enseignants/jolicoeur_p.html
Studies on the pathogenesis of AIDS
Oncogenes involved in leukemia and breast cancer
1- Identification and characterization of new oncogenes: The murine leukemia viruses (MuLV) frequently induce leukemia in inoculated mice. Their provirus act as insertional mutagens and activate endogenous proto-oncogenes or inactivate tumor suppressor genes. We are using this mutagenic approach to identify and characterize novel oncogenes involved in T cell leukemia.
2- Role of NOTCH1 in mammary tumor development: We use Tg mice expressing an activated oncogene (Notch1) in the mammary gland and developing mammary tumors to study the role of the cancer stem cells in tumor growth.
3- AIDS: We study an AIDS-like disease in Tg mice expressing HIV genes. Our work aims at identifying the contribution of distinct immune cell populations to the different phenotypes observed in these Tg mice. Moreover, our studies aim at identifying the host signaling pathways required for the development of this syndrome.
http://www.biochimie.umontreal.ca/bottin411/Enseignants/jolicoeur_p.html
So I am hopeful that the rumours are true, and that with the global race to be the first in on XMRV & family research, P Jolicoeur will get funding to examine XMRV et al and ME/CFS.