Co-Cure: MED, NOT: Martin Pall on XMRV

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Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:52:50 -0700

Co-Cure moderators <_cocuremoderator_

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MED, NOT: Martin Pall on XMRV

 

Moderator's note: From Teewinot <_teewinot13_

(teewinot13) >, reposted for proper distribution

 

 

Posted with permission:

 

 

Mikovits and her colleagues published a paper and accessory materials in

the journal Science, a highly respected journal and have also provided

additional and in some cases more recent information elsewhere. In the Science

publication they report that the XMRV retrovirus occurs in about 2/3rds of

CFS/ME patients but only in 3.7% of normal controls. They also report that

subsequently, using a more sensitive assay, XMRV occurs in over

90% of CFS/ME patients - we don't know what the percentage is for normal

controls using that more sensitive assay.

 

 

The virus was originally isolated from some aggressive prostate cancer

cells. In addition, in unpublished data, it is also apparently shows high

prevalence in fibromyagia patients and in atypical multiple sclerosis (MS)

patients.

 

 

Comment: These data apparently show that XMRV is not specific for CFS/ME

but rather occurs in other disease states, as well as in some normals. My

own view is that this makes it much more likely to be an opportunistic

disease, caused by the changes in immune function and other properties of these

diseases, rather than a primary cause. Specifically, the retrovirus, based

on its DNA sequence, has its replication stimulated by NF-kappaB activity,

an activity that is elevated as part of the NO/ONOO- cycle and has been

reported to be elevated in CFS/ME. Furthermore, the low NK cell activity and

other types of immune dysfunction, that occurs in these various diseases,

may also be expected to stimulate the ability of the virus to maintain

itself in disease sufferers.

 

 

In order to show that it is the primary cause of CFS/ME, it is necessary

to show that XMRV follows Koch's postulates, but so far it does not

apparently follow Koch's first postulate, which requires that it always occurs

in

people with the disease but does not occur in normals. The other three

Koch's postulates have not been tested.

 

 

In contrast to that, we have a good fit to the five principles underlying

the NO/ONOO- cycle for both CFS/ME and fibromyalgia. Because one can argue

that the fit to these five principles serve very much like Koch's

postulates for NO/ONOO- cycle disease, I will argue that we have a substantially

more compelling case for a NO/ONOO- cycle etiology than we do for an XMRV

infectious etiology for either CFS/ME or fibromyalgia.

 

 

That does not mean that XMRV is unimportant, however. Even if it turns

out to be an opportunistic infection, like mycoplasma and HHV-6 are, it still

may contribute to the etiology of the disease. And it still raises the

question of whether we can cure cases of CFS/ME and fibromyalgia simply by

normalizing the NO/ONOO- cycle as opposed to normalizing it and also using

antivirals to depress XMRV and/or HHV-6. This is a question and I don't claim

to have the answer to it, although my hope is that normalizing the cycle

will also cure at least some of these infections, that may not be true.

 

 

There have been comments in the media to the effect that this finally

shows that CFS/ME is physiological, not psychological. This is true, but this

should have been obviously true anyway, at least six or seven years ago.

Nevertheless the media coverage of CFS/ME obtained by Mikovits and her

colleagues must be viewed as a true gift to those interested in extending public

knowledge of this disease.

 

 

Martin L. (Marty) Pall

 

 

 

Dr. Martin Pall's NO/ONOO- Theory/Treatment Discussion Group:

_http://health.TenthParadigmSociety_

(http://health.TenthParadigmSociety)

 

The Tenth Paradigm - Dr. Martin Pall's Website for CFS/MCS/FM/ETC.:

_http://www.thetenthparadigm.org_ (http://www.thetenthparadigm.org)

 

MCS-SinglesConnection: For all singles MCSers 18 and over:

_http://health.MCS-SinglesConnection_

(http://health.MCS-SinglesConnection)

 

MCS-Florida - For All Chemically Sensitive Floridians

_MCS-Florida_

(MCS-Florida)

 

 

 

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