Re: Is it really just the Epstein Bar Virus?

[Guest guest]

Hey --

I agree with others--your friend is a denialist. She MUST overcome this in order

to survive. Most every HIV+ denialist has died of AIDS far sooner than need be.

Cite below underscores that EBV load can be tested for and is associated with

the types of neoplasia associated with EBV....and not AIDS. I have hep C--I get

a viral load for that. HIV has its viral load. There is no trouble

technologically in distinguishing between these distinct viruses--they're not

even in the same families!

I hope she will be persuaded and I wish you and her luck in getting through and

past the (often rightwing inspired) and frequently lethal lies of the HIV

denialists.

M.

***

http://cmr.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/2/350

Clinical Microbiology Reviews, April 2010, p. 350-366, Vol. 23, No. 2

0893-8512/10/$12.00+0 doi:10.1128/CMR.00006-09

, American Society for Microbiology. .

Using Epstein-Barr Viral Load Assays To Diagnose, Monitor, and Prevent

Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder

Margaret L. Gulley* and Weihua Tang

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Lineberger Comprehensive

Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Summary: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA measurement is being incorporated into

routine medical practice to help diagnose, monitor, and predict posttransplant

lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) in immunocompromised graft recipients. PTLD

is an aggressive neoplasm that almost always harbors EBV DNA within the

neoplastic lymphocytes, and it is often fatal if not recognized and treated

promptly. Validated protocols, commercial reagents, and automated instruments

facilitate implementation of EBV load assays by real-time PCR. When applied to

either whole blood or plasma, EBV DNA levels reflect clinical status with

respect to EBV-related neoplasia. While many healthy transplant recipients have

low viral loads, high EBV loads are strongly associated with current or

impending PTLD. Complementary laboratory assays as well as histopathologic

examination of lesional tissue help in interpreting modest elevations in viral

load. Circulating EBV levels in serial samples reflect changes in tumor burden

and represent an effective, noninvasive tool for monitoring the efficacy of

therapy. In high-risk patients, serial testing permits early clinical

intervention to prevent progression toward frank PTLD. Restoring T cell immunity

against EBV is a major strategy for overcoming PTLD, and novel EBV-directed

therapies are being explored to thwart virus-driven neoplasia.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory

Medicine, University of North Carolina, 101 Manning Dr., 913 Brinkhous-Bullitt

Building, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7525. Phone: (919) 843-4595. Fax: (919)

966-6718. E-mail: margaret_gulley@...

Clinical Microbiology Reviews, April 2010, p. 350-366, Vol. 23, No. 2

0893-8512/10/$12.00+0 doi:10.1128/CMR.00006-09

, American Society for Microbiology. .

[Guest guest]

"I asked her why this bothers her so much and she said it's because she does not like the "politics" of this disease. "People who do not have HIV may indeed develop things like PCP and KS. This does not indicate a "political" problem, but a biological issue.Prior to 1980, PCP was only seen in people with advanced starvation, exceptionally, or on really intensive chemotherapy with zero white cells.......and was rare.KS was ONLY seen in elderly men of "Mediterranean" origin, and it was an indolent disease that progressed slowly, if at all, and rarely killed.It shows that your friend is reading denialist stuff if she even considers the demonstrably false idea that these are "political" categories.JB