*Rituxan* Groundbreaking Study for CFS patients?

[Guest guest]

http://bit.ly/ojFMeI

Thoughts About ME

ME/CFS: A Disease of Despair

Groundbreaking Paper about

Norway Rituxan Study Imminent

Posted on August 4, 2011

by Sick And Tired

I just received an email from Invest in ME explaining why

the distribution of the conference DVDs of the Invest in

ME conference in London in May of this year has been

taking longer than expected.

Apparently, two Norwegian researchers, Professor Olav

Mella and Dr. Oystein Fluge, who presented at the

conference are about to publish a *groundbreaking*

paper and the DVDs are held back until happens in order

to avoid jeopardizing the publication.

Here is a quote from the Invest in ME email:

*This year as well we have the new research from the

Haukeland University Hospital, Norway. Before the

conference the Norwegian presenters, Professor Olav

Mella and Dr qystein Fluge, discussed with us the amount

of data that they could present regarding their exciting

new research.

They wished to present as much as possible but did not

wish to compromise the publication of their imminent

paper.

IiME promised that we would not distribute the DVD

(including their presentation) until the Norwegian

researchers gave the go-ahead due to the magnitude

and implications of their research.

In return Professor Mella and Dr Fluge were very open in

their presentation and gave as much information as they

could.

We do not wish to jeopardise their research publication so

we are now awaiting news of their imminent publication

before beginning the distribution of the DVD.

Their paper is now completing the peer review process

and we would rather wait a little longer before

distribution begins in order that we can include this

presentation on the DVD as well.

This has forced a delay but we hope everyone will

understand the reason for this. *The research by

Professor Mella and Dr Fluge, experts in their own

(non-ME) field, could be ground-breaking.* (Emphasis

added)

Based on Mike Turris' summary of the Invest in ME

conference, I am guessing that this has to do with Prof.

Fluge's and Dr. Mella's Rituxan study:

*Dr. Oystein Fluge and Professor Olav Mella were next

with their hypothesis that at least a subset of CFS

patients have an activated immune system as an

autoimmune illness, and these people could benefit from

a B-cell depletion therapy using Rituximab.*

Rituxan is a chemotherapy drug that depletes B cells.

Dr. Kogelnik, who first talked to me about Rituxan in

January of this year, is currently doing his own Rituxan

study. He was at the London conference, so he knows all

about the results of the Norway study.

All of this seems to suggest that the Norway Rituxan

study was successful. Dr. Kogelnik also mentioned the

study in his April talk:

*There's been some research in Norway with Rituxan.

Rituxan is a B cell agent that wipes out B cells, which is

one of the potential reservoirs especially for EBV or

HHV-6, but also for other pathogens.

There has been some great clinical success with Rituxan

on a short-term basis, but there is no long-term data

yet.

Patients on Rituxan have had almost complete resolution

of their symptoms within 24 hours. Unfortunately, after

the drug wears off, the symptoms return. So the

question to look at is what Rituxan is doing

immunologically and how that can be sustained long

term.*

For the sake of completeness:

Dr Oystein Fluge = O with a slash / through the O

~jvr