Reports on the FeLV talk at the XMRV conference??

[urbantravels]

Dr. Cheney's post said it would be followed up by a post about the FeLV talk - I gather that would have been the one given by Ellen Sparger? But I haven't seen Cheney's post about this appear anywhere on these boards.

Mindy Kitei doesn't seem to have covered the FeLV talk either.

That talk presumably didn't include any embargoed secrets, as it was about existing science on FeLV. Has this talk been discussed anywhere that anyone has been able to find?

 

[acer2000]

I am curious about this too...

 

[bullybeef]

Cheney did seem to suggest FLV would be a better model for XMRV, than using HIV. I spent a while last week reading up on FLV, and it is only infectious during its replication stage, in which it can be passed on via almost any bodily fluid. This makes sense why many people could be infected with XMRV, but also explain why it hasn’t infected everyone.

It also infects in phases, but doesn’t fully infect every host, but it can get to the point where once it is in the bone marrow, it becomes embedded in your system, and disease will begin to form.

Reading the phases makes very interesting reading, and you can almost fathom which phase you feel you are in.

BB

 

[ukxmrv]

I started reading up on Flv after the Invest in ME conference in 2009 (?). There was a talk by someone by the WPI and they showed a virus array slide that had been run on patients, Fel LV was flagged up there as being detected. My guess is that XMRV wasn't on that array it was picking up Fel LV as the closest thing?

 

[Daffodil]

i always thought XMRV was infectious by saliva only during the acute stage...thats why there are outbreaks. and since it is mostly tissue-bound and not really in blood, it wouldnt pass very well through sex either, but sometimes it might. that would explain everything.

most of the literature says AZT has been tried and is of some help but not a lot. looks like it is best when given soon after infection, which also fits CFS very well.

it says FeLV hangs out in bone marrow which is also suspected to be the main reservoir for XMRV.

 

[bullybeef]

i always thought XMRV was infectious by saliva only during the acute stage...thats why there are outbreaks. and since it is mostly tissue-bound and not really in blood, it wouldnt pass very well through sex either, but sometimes it might. that would explain everything.

most of the literature says AZT has been tried and is of some help but not a lot. looks like it is best when given soon after infection, which also fits CFS very well.

it says FeLV hangs out in bone marrow which is also suspected to be the main reservoir for XMRV.

Exactly Daffodil, but once it infects bone marrow this the point of no return, and leads to disease in cats (leukaemia). The question is, do cats show similar symptoms to ME too?

BB

 

[Jemal]

Cheney did seem to suggest FLV would be a better model for XMRV, than using HIV. I spent a while last week reading up on FLV...

Well, I have been doing some reading on FeLV as well, but I was *not* a happy cat.
If your cat has FelV here in the Netherlands you get either this advice:

- Always keep your cat indoors and if you have other cats lock it in a room, for the rest of its life.

Or this one:

- Euthanize it.

Not sure if I want to use FelV as a model for XMRV

Also, yes, cats do show signs of ME. They can be quite fatigued. Apparently FelV can lead to all kinds of diseases, symptoms and problems in cats. From cancers to fatigue and all kinds of infections, because the immune system becomes compromised.

FelV can be transmitted by all kinds of fluids, including saliva. Not happy about that either.

 

[Daffodil]

well its in our bone marrow now. will we all inevitably die of leukemia too? AZT only buys cats some time...they still die

 

[Daffodil]

so if we are shedding intermittently, am i going to be able to go back to work? will we have to move to a friggin' island??? this is BS!

they have to come up with a curative treatment. this is nuts.

maybe we won't shed it while on ARV's

ugh. what an absolute MESS

 

[Jemal]

well its in our bone marrow now. will we all inevitably die of leukemia too? AZT only buys cats some time...they still die

XMRV and FelV are different viruses and cats and humans are different creatures. We don't even know yet if XMRV is a factor for causing CFS (although I am pretty convinced nowadays). I don't think our future will be so bleak. CFS is a horrible disease, but fortunately it doesn't seem to be very deadly (also a reason why we don't get much attention).
We haven't lost this fight yet and I am convinced a lot of damage can be undone. I would just like for science to hurry up...

 

[Jemal]

so if we are shedding intermittently, am i going to be able to go back to work? will we have to move to a friggin' island??? this is BS!

they have to come up with a curative treatment. this is nuts.

Yes it is nuts. Fortunately we are humans and I don't think we will be put on an island like lepers or killed off. Other rules seem to apply to animals.

 

[Mya Symons]

30% of Cats Successfully Fight off the Disease

From "Signs of Feline Leukemia" by Michael
http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/signs-of-feline-leukemia.html

Outcome Description
All cats Virus infects lymphatic tissue (lymph nodes). Virus present in blood stream. Cat sheds virus.
1. 30% cats successfully fight off disease. Cats develop immune response. Disease does not progress. Virus eliminated.
2. Unknown number of cats develop immunity but carry disease. Virus remains in body of cat but it is not shed to other cats. Most of these cats eventually eliminate disease.
3. 30 – 40% of cats latently infected Late immune reaction. Virus does not spread in body. No shedding of virus to other cats. Mothers transmit disease to kittens via milk.
4. 30 –40% of cats actively infected. Infection progresses. Poor prognosis. Most die within 3 years


If Feline Leukemia is a good model for how HGRV progresses, then could it be possible those people who say they had CFS and recovered, really recovered from HGRV infections? More than 30% of cats successfully fight off the disease. Some have the disease for awhile before they fight it off. I have always thought that people who say they recovered did not really have CFS. Maybe this was wrong?
Also, this could explain why it is hard to follow a "trail" of infection and infection rates don't add up. Not all people exposed to this virus get sick. There immune systems illiminate it.

P.S. I am going to try to find a more reputable website to confirm this.

 

[Mya Symons]

Yes it is nuts. Fortunately we are humans and I don't think we will be put on an island like lepers or killed off. Other rules seem to apply to animals.

They do make people infected with certain types of Tuberculosis wear masks whenever they go out in public and they can't have jobs. I cannot remember the strain of Tuberculosis, but it is common in Russia and the Ukrain. There was a story in the news a little while ago about a Russian immigrant who had this strain of Tuberculosis and was arrested for not wearing his mask. It is a little nerve racking. Maybe there is a slight positive to having a disease with a bad name like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that nobody takes seriously. I don't think protective measures will be as drastic as this with us.

 

[Jemal]

If Feline Leukemia is a good model for how HGRV progresses, then could it be possible those people who say they had CFS and recovered, really recovered from HGRV infections?

I just read in this thread that people who say they have recovered from CFS are in fact still in a worse shape than healthy people. So they still have issues, but not nearly as bad as before.
http://www.forums.aboutmecfs.org/sh...ell-2010)-(inc-follow-up-of-pediatric-cohort)

Anyway, 90% of cats that can't fight off FelV infection and have symptoms are dead within 3 years. FelV and XMRV might share some characteristics, but CFS (XMRV?) is definitely not this deadly.