• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

The Puzzling Virus That Infects Almost Everyone (Epstein-Barr virus)

Alvin2

The good news is patients don't die the bad news..
Messages
3,024
The Puzzling Virus That Infects Almost Everyone
For many people, Epstein-Barr virus causes mild initial infection, but it is also linked to cancers and multiple sclerosis. What do we do about it?

Over the years, more hints of EBV’s unusual abilities started appearing. The virus or the antibodies to it seemed to be disproportionately found in people suffering from autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis as well as those suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis. These chronic conditions, whose biological mechanisms are even more elusive than cancer’s, are particularly hard to study.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science...cer-research/623881/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
 

CSMLSM

Senior Member
Messages
973
Hi Alvin2 my name is Daniel.

Everyone of those things stems from homeostatic imbalance (homeostasis). EBV is indeed very recently confirmed to be integral to MS progress and possibly its etiology.

In biology, homeostasis is the state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by living systems.[1] This is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and includes many variables, such as body temperature and fluid balance, being kept within certain pre-set limits (homeostatic range). Other variables include the pH of extracellular fluid, the concentrations of sodium, potassium and calcium ions, as well as that of the blood sugar level, and these need to be regulated despite changes in the environment, diet, or level of activity. Each of these variables is controlled by one or more regulators or homeostatic mechanisms, which together maintain life.

Homeostasis is brought about by a natural resistance to change when already in the optimal conditions,[2] and equilibrium is maintained by many regulatory mechanisms. All homeostatic control mechanisms have at least three interdependent components for the variable being regulated: a receptor, a control centre, and an effector.[3] The receptor is the sensing component that monitors and responds to changes in the environment, either external or internal. Receptors include thermoreceptors, and mechanoreceptors. Control centres include the respiratory centre, and the renin–angiotensin system. An effector is the target acted on, to bring about the change back to the normal state. At the cellular level, effectors include nuclear receptors that bring about changes in gene expression through up-regulation or down-regulation, and act in negative feedback mechanisms. An example of this is in the control of bile acids in the liver.[4]

Check out my Caryophyllene thread for more infomation on such subjects.

Daniel
 

Reading_Steiner

Senior Member
Messages
245
I never got any confirmation about what caused my me/cfs other than a 'virus' although I did blood tests as soon as possible, within 2 or 3 weeks. It all started with throwing up, then going to bed and the next day suddenly having a really bad fever, weakness etc with labyrinthitis that persisted for a while after the main illness went down. I looked on google and apparently that inner ear problem can be caused by IM, it can also affect your liver and spleen. In the first few months there was a lot of nausea following exercise and sensitivity to pressure in the middle of my stomach a bit above the belly button. I'm told I have a persistently enlarged spleen with no apparent cause. I sometimes get rashes on my hands that seem to be Erythema Multiforme and those rashes correspond with chemical sensitivity and flare ups or severe stages of the illness, I suspect these might be caused by a herpes virus. The GP said they won't diagnose me purely because I have those rashes sometimes, which don't fit into the 'normal' set of symptoms for me/cfs.
 

ruben

Senior Member
Messages
295
I'm not up to understanding the scientific posts on PR but an often recurring theme seems to be where someone tries a certain approach, they get a positive response, only for to initial benefits to subside. Does this not suggest that yes a virus is the real issue and the virus always "wins"
 

wabi-sabi

Senior Member
Messages
1,484
Location
small town midwest