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XMRV & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Research News
Tuesday April 6, 2010
Research Briefs
XMRV, the retrovirus tentatively linked to chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer, continues to be the subject of fervent research. Four new items of information have recently come to light.
#1: Treating XMRV Infection
A study published in the Journal of Virology demonstrates that the anti-retroviral drugs AZT, tenofovir and raltegravir may be effective treatments for XMRV infection.
Researchers also say that cells with certain defects, such as prostate cancer cells, may be especially good at spreading XMRV.
#2: Prevalence of XMRV in Blood Supply
A Japanese study showed that XMRV is present in both prostate cancer patients and healthy blood donors in Japan. Researchers found XMRV-specific antibodies in 1.7% of health people and 6.3% of those with prostate cancer.
Researchers also observed that the virus replication rate appears to be low, but that even so XMRV can spread through the blood.
#3: Replication Study of WPI Findings Planned
According to the Hunter-Hopkins Center in Charlotte, NC, pharmaceutical company Glaxo Smith Kline is paying for a study that will attempt to replicate the Whittemore Peterson Institute's XMRV research.
This up-coming study will use both Fukuda and Canadian diagnostic criteria, like WPI researchers did, and will use XMRV-positive chronic fatigue syndrome patients as a positive control. It will also have a control group of healthy people.
Three European studies that failed to find XMRV in chronic fatigue syndrome patients have been criticized for not replicating the WPI's criteria and other methods. This will be the first attempt at a replication study.
#4: Utah Study Apparently Expanded
The Rising Phoenix blog reports that participants in an exercise-based chronic fatigue syndrome study were called back to be tested for XMRV, and that the study has since expanded.
Read more about this development here:
XMRV & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Research News
Tuesday April 6, 2010
Research Briefs
XMRV, the retrovirus tentatively linked to chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer, continues to be the subject of fervent research. Four new items of information have recently come to light.
#1: Treating XMRV Infection
A study published in the Journal of Virology demonstrates that the anti-retroviral drugs AZT, tenofovir and raltegravir may be effective treatments for XMRV infection.
Researchers also say that cells with certain defects, such as prostate cancer cells, may be especially good at spreading XMRV.
#2: Prevalence of XMRV in Blood Supply
A Japanese study showed that XMRV is present in both prostate cancer patients and healthy blood donors in Japan. Researchers found XMRV-specific antibodies in 1.7% of health people and 6.3% of those with prostate cancer.
Researchers also observed that the virus replication rate appears to be low, but that even so XMRV can spread through the blood.
#3: Replication Study of WPI Findings Planned
According to the Hunter-Hopkins Center in Charlotte, NC, pharmaceutical company Glaxo Smith Kline is paying for a study that will attempt to replicate the Whittemore Peterson Institute's XMRV research.
This up-coming study will use both Fukuda and Canadian diagnostic criteria, like WPI researchers did, and will use XMRV-positive chronic fatigue syndrome patients as a positive control. It will also have a control group of healthy people.
Three European studies that failed to find XMRV in chronic fatigue syndrome patients have been criticized for not replicating the WPI's criteria and other methods. This will be the first attempt at a replication study.
#4: Utah Study Apparently Expanded
The Rising Phoenix blog reports that participants in an exercise-based chronic fatigue syndrome study were called back to be tested for XMRV, and that the study has since expanded.
Read more about this development here:
- A Light in the Darkness: Good News Ahead for XMRV? by Cort Johnson
