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I am dismayed to read about a private conversation,
a portion of which has been taken out of context,
and disseminated on the internet.
My recollection is that the conversation was much
more measured than what is portrayed here.
In fact, the anecdotal response to antiretrovirals has
been mixed, though there have been some notable
successes.
The response to treatment, or lack thereof, is an
important piece of the puzzle.
I am not a clinician. I am a scientist. My enthusiasm
for antiretroviral drugs stems from (unpublished)
laboratory evidence that treatment with
antiretrovirals impacts the disease.
Although scientific convention generally requires not
discussing prepublication findings, the enormity of
the public health disaster ethically requires
suspension of these norms.
The WPI is committed to making any clinically
relevant information available. Our clinical advisory
board was formed to address this issue.
Our vision is to have a research group and clinical
group that interact to produce meaningful treatment
for patients as soon as possible.
We are doing everything in our power to open the
clinic to patients in the very near future. It is a
unique opportunity for true translational medicine,
bench to bedside to bench, and should further our
understanding of XMRV/HMRV infection in the most
direct way possible.
For the last year, I have been forced to respond to
clinical questions, because many patients have had
no one else to ask. We are making progress towards
providing physicians to answer questions about
treatment.
Judy A. Mikovits
