I wonder if one possible explanation for low levels in blood could be high levels in the brain - NEURONS AND GLIAL CELLS (and even cerebrospinal fluid?) - have those been measued in CFS?? and also in/around endothelial tissue, and similar hiding places for xmrv.
This is odd but is the case for example with TNF-alpha in autism - very high levels in brain and CFS, but low levels in the blood. Again with interferon alpha, high levels in CFS and brain, no data (?) on blood levels.
Anyone know enough about IFN alpha to comment? Could this be the case of molecules that are produced locally in infected tissue, and therefore not circulating in the blood? Or something like that. So low blood levels are a consequence of some sort of IFN alpha "homeosasis" (this is now known to be the case with many neurotransmitters for example - there is one study showing low blood levels of one particular neurtransmitter actually reflected high levels in the brain, and researches then managed to reduce brain levels by raising blood levels via intravenous supplementation)
here are some interesting indications: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30112028?seq=1
(cytokine levels in serum and CSF of patients with CFS)
Cytokines and the Brain (great info on IFN alpha effects on brain function and CFS symptoms) http://www.psych.illinois.edu/~eroy/396er/cytokines.pdf
This is odd but is the case for example with TNF-alpha in autism - very high levels in brain and CFS, but low levels in the blood. Again with interferon alpha, high levels in CFS and brain, no data (?) on blood levels.
Anyone know enough about IFN alpha to comment? Could this be the case of molecules that are produced locally in infected tissue, and therefore not circulating in the blood? Or something like that. So low blood levels are a consequence of some sort of IFN alpha "homeosasis" (this is now known to be the case with many neurotransmitters for example - there is one study showing low blood levels of one particular neurtransmitter actually reflected high levels in the brain, and researches then managed to reduce brain levels by raising blood levels via intravenous supplementation)
here are some interesting indications: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30112028?seq=1
(cytokine levels in serum and CSF of patients with CFS)
Cytokines and the Brain (great info on IFN alpha effects on brain function and CFS symptoms) http://www.psych.illinois.edu/~eroy/396er/cytokines.pdf