Summer
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Researchers in Reno find link between retrovirus and neuro-immune disease
"Researchers from the Whittemore Peterson Institute, say XMRV-only the third retrovirus known to affect humans-is found in 95 percent of patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome."
Virus discovery called breakthrough in fight against chronic fatigue syndrome
"In a telephone interview, Mikovits said they had also found antibodies against the virus in 95% of the chronic fatigue syndrome patients. Experts noted that no test was perfect at identifying all cases of an infection, and the antibody tests Mikovits used were being refined."
"My gut feeling is it's not a carrier virus," she said. "It's a human retrovirus, just like HIV, which is why all those other pathogens are not able to be controlled." The close association with chronic fatigue syndrome is important, she added, because "never before has there even been a biomarker in this disease."
Is a Virus the Cause of Fatigue Syndrome?
There is a group who are young, healthy, active and engaged, and all of a sudden they are laid low by something, Dr. Schaffner said. Everyone tells the physicians these are people who are functional and productive, and this is totally out of character. They are frustrated and often quite disheartened. You feel that medical science hasnt caught up with their illness yet.
Chronic fatigue syndrome linked to 'cancer virus'
"Mikovits suspects that XMRV causes CFS. She says her team has found antibodies against XMRV in 95 per cent of the nearly 300 patients they have tested, but these results have yet to published in a journal. Antibodies are a more sensitive test than looking for viral genes, as they pick up people who have had XMRV in the past, not just those who still have it.
What's more, some characteristics of the virus match up with the syndrome's symptoms, she says. Viruses related to XMRV can cause blood vessels around the body to leak, a common symptom of CFS. Mikovits also notes that in mice, a protein that coats the shell of the virus causes the animals' nerves to degenerate. A class of immune cells called natural killer cells, which are thought to go wrong in CFS, are known to be susceptible to infection by the virus."
Retrovirus might be culprit in chronic fatigue syndrome
"Meanwhile, retroviruses harbor pro-growth genes, and some cause the blood cancer leukemia in animals and people. XMRV or xenotropic murine-leukemia-virusrelated virus itself shows up in some men with prostate cancer, particularly those with aggressive malignancies, another research team reported last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Gammaretroviruses, a subset of retroviruses, also cause disease in gibbons, cats and koalas, Silverman says. XMRV is the first member of this genus of retrovirus to be found in humans, he notes.
In the new study, the researchers also found hints that the retrovirus is transmitted by blood, as are some other viruses, including HIV. But its probably not spreading very fast, because people with chronic fatigue are too sick to do anything, Mikovits says."
NIH Press Release
Consortium of Researchers Discover Retroviral Link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
"Retroviruses like XMRV have also been shown to activate a number of other latent viruses. This could explain why so many different viruses, such as Epstein-Barr virus, which was causally linked to Burkitt's and other lymphomas in the 1970s, have been associated with CFS. It is important to note that retroviruses, like XMRV, are not airborne.
"The scientific evidence that a retrovirus is implicated in CFS opens a new world of possibilities for so many people," said Annette Whittemore, founder and president of WPI and mother of a CFS patient. "Scientists can now begin the important work of translating this discovery into medical care for individuals with XMRV related diseases."
"Researchers from the Whittemore Peterson Institute, say XMRV-only the third retrovirus known to affect humans-is found in 95 percent of patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome."
Virus discovery called breakthrough in fight against chronic fatigue syndrome
"In a telephone interview, Mikovits said they had also found antibodies against the virus in 95% of the chronic fatigue syndrome patients. Experts noted that no test was perfect at identifying all cases of an infection, and the antibody tests Mikovits used were being refined."
"My gut feeling is it's not a carrier virus," she said. "It's a human retrovirus, just like HIV, which is why all those other pathogens are not able to be controlled." The close association with chronic fatigue syndrome is important, she added, because "never before has there even been a biomarker in this disease."
Is a Virus the Cause of Fatigue Syndrome?
There is a group who are young, healthy, active and engaged, and all of a sudden they are laid low by something, Dr. Schaffner said. Everyone tells the physicians these are people who are functional and productive, and this is totally out of character. They are frustrated and often quite disheartened. You feel that medical science hasnt caught up with their illness yet.
Chronic fatigue syndrome linked to 'cancer virus'
"Mikovits suspects that XMRV causes CFS. She says her team has found antibodies against XMRV in 95 per cent of the nearly 300 patients they have tested, but these results have yet to published in a journal. Antibodies are a more sensitive test than looking for viral genes, as they pick up people who have had XMRV in the past, not just those who still have it.
What's more, some characteristics of the virus match up with the syndrome's symptoms, she says. Viruses related to XMRV can cause blood vessels around the body to leak, a common symptom of CFS. Mikovits also notes that in mice, a protein that coats the shell of the virus causes the animals' nerves to degenerate. A class of immune cells called natural killer cells, which are thought to go wrong in CFS, are known to be susceptible to infection by the virus."
Retrovirus might be culprit in chronic fatigue syndrome
"Meanwhile, retroviruses harbor pro-growth genes, and some cause the blood cancer leukemia in animals and people. XMRV or xenotropic murine-leukemia-virusrelated virus itself shows up in some men with prostate cancer, particularly those with aggressive malignancies, another research team reported last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Gammaretroviruses, a subset of retroviruses, also cause disease in gibbons, cats and koalas, Silverman says. XMRV is the first member of this genus of retrovirus to be found in humans, he notes.
In the new study, the researchers also found hints that the retrovirus is transmitted by blood, as are some other viruses, including HIV. But its probably not spreading very fast, because people with chronic fatigue are too sick to do anything, Mikovits says."
NIH Press Release
Consortium of Researchers Discover Retroviral Link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
"Retroviruses like XMRV have also been shown to activate a number of other latent viruses. This could explain why so many different viruses, such as Epstein-Barr virus, which was causally linked to Burkitt's and other lymphomas in the 1970s, have been associated with CFS. It is important to note that retroviruses, like XMRV, are not airborne.
"The scientific evidence that a retrovirus is implicated in CFS opens a new world of possibilities for so many people," said Annette Whittemore, founder and president of WPI and mother of a CFS patient. "Scientists can now begin the important work of translating this discovery into medical care for individuals with XMRV related diseases."
