XMRV Possible Link To CFIDS, Not The Cause

[Guest guest]

I am *EXTREMELY* disturbed by what I see going on in the patient

community. *NO* one, *ESPECIALLY* the researchers, have *EVER* claimed

that this virus (XMRV) is the *CAUSE* of CFIDS. To make such a

statement and spread it is the height of irresponsibility. In fact, the

researchers warned that this study *DOES NOT* show XMRV is the *CAUSE*

of CFIDS.

While the results of this study are intriguing and interesting, they are

in *NO* way *PROOF* of causality. The results of this study have yet to

even be replicated by another institution, preferably with a larger sample.

As a former medical professional and biomedical researcher, I am

interested in the results, but I also know that much work remains to be

done. It pains me to once again see people desperate to get well latch

on to an unproven cause. This is not the first time this has occurred

with CFIDS. The same was said about the spuma virus nearly two decades

ago. It turned out to be nothing more than an opportunistic infection,

as have some other viruses.

Then the ciguatoxin epitope was hailed as the cause of CFIDS. Again,

the patient community went crazy. It turned out to be the red herring

I, and many others, believed it was.

I have been sick for 20 years, but I refuse to celebrate this discovery

until far more questions are answered. A single study proves nothing.

The study had a small sample. The results showed that 3.7% of the

healthy controls had the virus. Taking the population of the USA,

rounded to 308 million, and subtracting the 4 million that have CFIDS,

leaves 304 million healthy people. That means statistically over 11.2

million healthy people carry the virus. A few thousand of them should

be followed for 10-20 years to see if they get sick. If none of them

get sick, why not?

XMRV has been shown to not be airborne and to be transmitted via blood

and semen. Testing of those CFIDS patients who have not had sexual

contact or received blood products should be done to see if they are

infected. There are a lot of children with the disease who probably

meet those criteria. If they are found to be virus-free, it then is

probably not the cause. If they have the virus, it would then be

interesting to test their mothers for the virus, regardless of whether

they are sick. There is disagreement as to whether retroviruses

(including HIV) cross the placenta.

If CFIDS patients are found that do *NOT* have the virus, how is that

explained? This *CANNOT* be ignored.

Until further research is conducted, XMRV *CANNOT* be labeled the

*CAUSE* of CFIDS. It *IS* possible it could turn out to be just another

opportunistic infection. And if that's the case, a lot of people are

going to look terribly foolish and may have caused more harm than good.

Jeri <teewinot13@...>

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