ME/CFS -Infectious Retrovirus XMRV in Blood Cells

[Guest guest]

forwarding................

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Send an Email for free membership

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

>>>>> Help ME Circle <<<<

>>>> 8 October 2009 <<<<

Editorship : j.van.roijen

mail scanned by Comodo I. Security

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

 

 

 

Prof. Kenny De Meirleir:

 

 

 

Hi Friends, here is the long awaited paper!

 

 

Lombardi, V.C. et al. 2009. Detection of an infectious retrovirus, XMRV,

in blood cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Science, online

October 8. - doi:10.1126/science.1179052

 

_http://bit.ly/BXUnc

 

 

 

_ (http://bit.ly/BXUnc) ````

~jan van roijen: see below

 

 

 

Retrovirus might be culprit in chronic fatigue syndrome

 

People with the condition are much more likely than others to harbor a

little-known pathogen

 

 

By Nathan Seppa

 

 

The long, fruitless search for the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome has

taken a curious turn. Scientists report online October 8 in Science that an

obscure retrovirus shows up in two-thirds of people diagnosed with the

condition. The researchers also show the retrovirus can infect human immune

cells.

 

 

These findings don’t establish that the pathogen, called gammaretrovirus

XMRV, causes chronic fatigue, cautions study coauthor Robert Silverman, a

molecular biologist at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland

Clinic.

 

“Nevertheless, it’s exciting because it is a viable candidate for a

cause.â€

 

 

Roughly 1 to 4 million people in the United States have chronic fatigue

syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

The condition shows up as mental and physical exhaustion, memory lapses,

muscle pain, insomnia, digestive distress and other health problems. Doctors

often diagnose chronic fatigue only after ruling out everything else. Its

cause is unknown.

 

 

In the new study, the researchers tested blood from 101 people with

chronic fatigue syndrome and found that 68 were infected with XMRV. When the

scientists analyzed blood from 218 healthy people as a control group, only

eight had the virus - 4 percent. The study participants lived in various parts

of the United States.

 

 

“This is a very striking association — two-thirds of the patients,†says

John Coffin, a virologist at Tufts University in Boston who wasn’t involved

in the

study. A 4 percent infection rate in the healthy controls is also

substantial, he notes, because it suggests that 10 million people in the United

States

are harboring this hidden infection.

 

 

If the retrovirus indeed is found to cause chronic fatigue, the infected 4

percent in the control group might represent people who have been infected

for a short time and haven’t developed symptoms, or who have kept the

virus in check, says study coauthor Judy Mikovits, a cell biologist at

Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno and at the University of Nevada, Reno.

 

 

Based on its genetic makeup, XMRV arose from a mouse retrovirus that

somehow jumped to humans.

 

 

Mikovits asserts that the retroviral infection might result in an immune

deficiency that leads to chronic fatigue symptoms.

 

Retroviruses are known to attack the immune system, with HIV being the

best-known example. In this study, researchers showed that XMRV infected

immune cells in the blood.

 

 

“This may end the controversy as to whether there is an underlying

infection in some cases of chronic fatigue syndrome, but is unlikely to explain

all cases,†says internist Dedra Buchwald of the University of Washington in

Seattle.

 

 

Retroviruses can awaken latent viruses already in cells. It is possible

that chronic fatigue symptoms are caused not by XMRV but by other viruses

that it activates, she says.

 

 

Meanwhile, retroviruses harbor pro-growth genes, and some cause the blood

cancer leukemia in animals and people.

 

XMRV - or xenotropic murine-leukemia-virus–related 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 it’s probably not spreading very fast, because people with chronic

fatigue “are too sick to do anything,†Mikovits says.

 

 

Further research is under way to fine-tune testing for the retrovirus, and

more blood analyses are planned that will clarify its occurrence rate in

the general population.

 

Mikovits and her colleagues are investigating already-approved

antiretroviral drugs to see if these will benefit people who have chronic

fatigue.

 

 

~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Send an Email for free membership

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

>>>>> Help ME Circle <<<<

>>>> 8 October 2009 <<<<

Editorship : j.van.roijen

mail scanned by Comodo I. Security

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~