MLVs and a sudden onset of CFS

[guest]

Hi all,

after thinking a little bit about MLVs and CFS I wonder myself the following:

1) Many of us had a sudden onset
2) The low replication rates of MLVs as well as the course of HIV infection (retrovirus that slowly progresses to AIDS) give reason to the thought that MLV may not cause a sudden onset. I may be wrong of course.
3) For me it seems possible that like in HIV the MLVs render the immune system dysfunctional over time. The virus replicates itself over time and causes more and more damage that may lead to first symptoms but not a sudden onset.
4) At a certain point of time the infected people get struck down by Co-infections like EBV, HHV-6 etc. and interpret this as their beginning of the illness because this was the first time they had symptoms which were very nasty and didn't go away.

5) But what if the person got infected by XMRV well before that and XMRV smoothed the way for all kind of Infections? What if XMRV due to it's long replication cycles does not cause a sudden onset but attacks the immune system over time till people suddenly get struck down by another virus? I definetly do not exclude that MLVs cause damage by themselves and the WPI (if I remember correctly) said that it will soon show how they do this but could it be that MLVs rather need some time before we see first symptoms?

If you have contradicting opinions pls feel free to comment. In my eyes treating MLVs would in this case still be the solution. MLVs cause damage and symptoms but not a sudden onset and as soon as the immune system works properly it will get rid of any other Co-infections.

 

[Jemal]

I had a sudden onset of tiredness (didn't get the flu just before it), but have had all kind of weird symptoms years before that, all symptoms that fit CFS. This does lead me to believe that if XMRV is responsible for CFS, it could take years before certain symptoms (or any symptoms) appear. I also believe the tiredness may be a result from other infections, that hit us because of a disfunctional or suppressed immune system.

(It could also be that the tiredness is a result from a too active immune system or an immune system that suddenly realises that for years a virus has been replicating and is now bringing in the big guns to fight it. If XMRV has spread to the entire body, the immune system would be attacking it everywhere and cause all kinds of problems).

So I believe the ultimate cause for CFS is XMRV, like HIV is the cause of AIDS. We will see how this pans out in the future.

 

[eric_s]

My guess is the same thing that you said, Diesel. Now we just have to wait for research to figure it out... And speed it up, if we can.

 

[Wonko]

I agree with your hypothesis Diesel (this doesnt mean I agree with the guy in the other thread lol) - with the proviso that I wasnt exactly fully firing for a few years before my sudden onset - not definably ill but not normal compared with my peers - but this could have been as much down to my lifestyle at the time as anythign else - tho of course my peers had the same lifestyle

 

[SOC]

I agree with your hypothesis, too, Diesel.

My daughter and I are both sudden onset cases, and both, oddly enough, had the same triggering illness about a week apart. It seems a bit odd to me that if the HGRV had been slowly degrading out immune systems, we should both tip over the edge at the same time. Perhaps it was a particularly virulent virus and so would have pushed any HGRV-infected person into ME/CFS...? That said, my daughter managed to stay in remission the vast majority of the time for several years, with only occasional mild symptoms, while I didn't quite recover fully and had many significant flares during that time.

I could easily believe, though, that my immune system was degrading over many years prior to my sudden onset, so the idea that I've had the retrovirus for many years seems well within the bounds of possibility to me.

It will be interesting to see how our hypotheses fit the facts when we actually get them. :Retro smile:

 

[caledonia]

It sounds very reasonable and logical to me. This is what I've been assuming as well.