Things have changed. Today, I am hopeful that there will be a third part to my life. The life where XMRV and related viruses are diagnosed and researched. The life where drug trials begin and remedies are found for this debilitating disease. A life that doesn't require that I rest up after every small activity. A life where I am strong and once again self sufficient.
Make no mistake about it, the time to put an end to this misunderstood, life-stealing disease is near. This blog is about the research that is already changing the way we view ME/CFS. We are just at the beginning. Much more research is needed. Here is the story of XMRV and hope.
In 2009, Whittemore Peterson Institute scientists discovered a significant link between a newly-found retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), and the neuroimmune disease, ME/CFS. Their ground-breaking discovery was published in the world-renowned journal Science, on 8th October, 2010.
http://www.wpinstitute.org
http://www.sciencemag.org/
This discovery brought renewed interest to the much-maligned disease and a flurry of research was conducted in order to confirm the link.
On August 23rd 2010, US government scientists validated the link, announcing they had found an association between a family of infectious murine leukaemia viruses and ME/CFS. They reported that 87% of those sampled carried at least one of the retroviruses, along with 7% (1 in 14) of the healthy controls.
http://www.rescindinc.org/
http://www.cfscentral.com/
http://www.pnas.org/conten
http://www.pnas.org/conten
XMRV is similar to HIV, the retrovirus that causes AIDS.
Following the validation study several countries banned ME/CFS patients from giving blood. In many cases these bans are for life.
For more information on XMRV and the Whittemore Peterson Institute, please visit the following site: http://www.wpinstitute.org
If you would like to donate a regular, small amount to help push this research on, then please consider participating in the COUNT ME IN campaign. For more details visit: http://www.facebook.com/no
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Here are some links you might want to use:-
Key Scientific Papers & Related:
Detection of an Infectious Retrovirus, XMRV, in Blood Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Science http://www.sciencemag.org/
Detection of MLV-related virus gene sequences in blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy blood donorshttp://www.pnas.org/content/early
Aug. 23, 2010 – Detection of MLV-related virus gene sequences in blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy blood donors PNAS FDA Press Briefing http://www.wpinstitute.org
Blood Donor Bans:
http://mcwpa.org/in-the-ne
Pertinent News & Blog Reports:
A Big Splash From an Upstart Medical Center New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/200
New Hope in Fatigue Fight Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/arti
Viruses Found in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients – National Institute of Health NIH Research Matters http://www.nih.gov/researc
The Lingering Mystery of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome http://well.blogs.nytimes.
Exhausted by Illness, and Doubts http://www.nytimes.com/201
XMRV and CFS – It’s not the end http://www.virology.ws/201
Gearing Up for the Big Search for XMRV http://blogs.wsj.com/healt
Other XMRV Links:
Cleveland Clinic - 40% of patients with aggressive prostate cancer have XMRV http://www.plospathogens.o
XMRV: Virological, immunological and clinical correlations in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma http://www.wpinstitute.org
Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus–related Gammaretrovirus in Respiratory Tract http://www.cdc.gov/eid/con
COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS RELATING TO XMRV-RELATED DISEASES AND CONDITIONS http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/
Of mice and men: on the origin of XMRV http://www.frontiersin.org
XMRV retrovirus found in 62% of ME patients tested in Lillestrøm, Norway
http://esme-eu.com/news/xm
THE PREVALENCE OF XMRV IN HEALTHY BLOOD DONORS IN JAPAN http://www.diagnosesupport
1st International Workshop on XMRV: Abstracts in Reviews in Antiviral Therapy & Infectious Diseases 2010_8. Abstracts http://regist2.virology-ed
Distribution of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) infection in chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer Pubmed.gov http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
A Third Pathogenic and Lymphotropic Human Retrovirus AIDS Review
http://www.aidsreviews.com
