First: Comments concerning the Chicago Tribune. When a major newspaper such as the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, New York Times etc. through their investigative reporting state they have a valid and credible information, then you better believe they have done their homework or the editor would not have allowed the information to be release. Unlike the tabloids, they have journalist ethical standards which they must adhere to.
Second: Like newspapers, confidential sources come forth to provide information. They want to remain unnamed for a reason otherwise they would not come forward with information for fear of retribution. All major investigative reporters use confidential sources which are unnamed.
Third: I have the original file or files which I cannot upload as they are 9 mb in size and cannot be uploaded on this forum for all to see and make their own evaluation. If someone can direct me to where these files can be uploaded then let me know.
I also believe that it does a disservice among the patient community by giving patients a false sense of hope without any foundation of scientific data/proof or research. To make connections of XMRV with other associated diseases and now HGRV as causing ME or other associated diseases without proper scrutiny by the scientific community on their proof/data or research, is outside normal behavior on the part of the institution and the scientists involved. To give patients a false sense of hope and yank that hope away is just as cruel and I wonder if WPI or Mikovits will apologize to the patient community!
Will the WPI refund the lab cost to patients based on those assays? There was no contracts involve with patients?
Then there is a whole new spectra arising that indicated that the WPI and Mikovits were sloppy in their tests indicating XMRV with CFS patients in the least. However, in the worse there is an accusation being made that their is fraud associated with these tests with the WPI and Mikovits within Science and in regards to disseminating false information to the patient community.
Since this thread and this section of the forum is to keep the patient community informed on XMRV, I will post some information on here that has just surfaced which is now coming to light. This information was known to some a few months ago but the evolution of time and additional research has highlighted this fact that cannot be ignored. I don't like being the bearer of bad news.
I also wonder who gives anyone the right to speak on behalf of the WPI and call this HGRV not XMRV? Who gives anyone the right to make statements that clearly contradict the WPI and Mikovits own statements?
Show me the data/research article that states that HGRV causes ME?
WPI Site states:
The spectrum of neuro-immune diseases including: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), Atypical MS, Fibromyalgia and Gulf War Syndrome, share common abnormalities in the innate immune response, which result in chronic immune activation and immune deficiency.
We have detected the retroviral infection XMRV in greater than 95% of the more than 200 ME/CFS, Fibromylagia, Atypical MS patients tested. The current working hypothesis is that XMRV infection of B, T, NK and other cells of the innate immune response causes chronic inflammation and immune deficiency resulting in an inability to mount an effective immune response to opportunistic infections.
Mikovits continued to strike a defiant tone, insisting that XMRV had not been ruled out as a potential cause of CFS.
"Anyone who says this is a lab contaminant has drawn the wrong conclusion and has done a disservice to the public," she told the journal.
She vowed to continue working to prove that XMRV is a genuine virus and is present in CFS patients. "The virus is real," she told Science. "I have isolated it from patients. I know it's there."
"The conclusion of the Blood Working Group was that we don't have a reproducible assay to detect XMRVs in the blood -- not that they weren't in the patients at all."
She vowed to continue working to prove that XMRV is a genuine virus and is present in CFS patients. "The virus is real," she told Science. "I have isolated it from patients. I know theres an outbreak of XMRV.
Notice: no mention of HGRV!
WHICH IS IT XMRV OR HGRV?
There is no research data or paper to date that proves HGRV causes ME. To state otherwise is sheer lunancy![/B]
Who are all these people that speak for the WPI and Mikovtis? What gives them the right to contradict the WPI and Mikovits own statements?
Silverman sent the WPI VP62 plasmids in 2007 (before they 'found' XMRV in patient samples.)
The CFS samples that left WPI were contaminated with VP62 pasmid prior to Silvermann lab receiving them in 2009. Lombardi paper states all of these ABs detected the human VP62 XMRV strain grown in human Raji, LNCaP, Sup-T1 cells (fig. S3)(5).
Silvermans lab found VP62 plasmid in their samples. The CFS samples that left WPI were contaminated with VP62 pasmid prior to Silvermann lab receiving them in 2009. Lombardi paper states all of these ABs detected the human VP62 XMRV strain grown in human Raji, LNCaP, Sup-T1 cells (fig. S3)(5).
Mikovits refused to name the independent lab where their test was conducted on the samples for contamination.
All of the sequences the Whittemore Peterson Institute uploaded to Genbank were identical. They are not only identical to one another, they were identical to an infectious molecular clone of XMRV, VP62. Even though Mikovits prior to posting indicated otherwise.
Show me the sequences of these HGRV's from the WPI in GenBank. Where are they? An apology should be made to all the researchers who were vilified and had their motives and character questioned by a very small niche group of militant WPI supporters because they couldn't detect xmrv in the blood samples. As stated earlier, even Mikovits couldn't detect them either using their 'own' assays and admitted that xmrv could not be detected by any existing assay.
Meanwhile, at the WPI, they say they get FANTASTIC results with their assays. The 67% positive rate flew up to, what, 100% after the Science publication And yet, when WPI/Mikovits are given samples where they do not know beforehand who is 'supposed' to be positive and who is 'supposed' to be negative in a blinded study. Zero detection for xmrv
Then out of the blue, Mikovits changed her tune saying that what we found was not xmrv but hgrv but had to call them xmrv because of Silverman. Huh? She went around the world calling it xmrv not hgrv for years. She even vehemently denied that there was any contamination issue. But then makes this incredible statement after the BWG demonstrated her xmrv theory is dead that it was HGRV they found not xmrv in the Lombardi et al paper. Huh. Mikovits in a short span of time contradicted her own statements. She completely reversed herself buy now stating that what they found were hgrv's when she couldn't repeat her own test using blinded controls in the Lombardi. Where is the proof/data evidence for such claims? Zero, Nada, Zip
]So if someone can point to a site to upload large files by making a post in this thread, then I can link into here for everyone to make their own determination. There is more then just the one label.
For some who have a psychological emotional involvement in this, it will be hard to change their perception or reality of the situation. This post is not to inflame but to inform. Personalities should not be considered but based on the facts and evidence presented to make an inform decision. Many people want to attack the messenger and not the message. Focus on the message instead.
I apologize if this upsets people and also I am in transit so I hope this makes sense.
Eco
