Re: Nicolson on Mycoplasma and ALS

[Guest guest]

Where is Garth Nicolson these days? Is he holed up doing research or

what? His website www.immed.org has some info, but I think it's kind

of old. I've been trying to find the protocol he used on GWS

patients and have been unsuccessful.

Isn't PCR testing the kind of blood testing that's like dipping a

bucket in the ocean--if you don't come up with fish, you can't say

there aren't any fish in the ocean...? If that's the case, I wonder

how they got so many positive test results. Or is mycoplasma easier

to find with PCR (than Lyme for example) because there's more of it

in more of the cells?

> J Clin Neurosci. 2002 Sep;9(5):525-9. Related Articles, Links

>

>

> High frequency of systemic mycoplasmal infections in Gulf War

> veterans and civilians with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

>

> Nicolson GL, Nasralla MY, Haier J, Pomfret J.

>

> Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of General Surgery,

> University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany. gnicolson@i...

>

> The presence of systemic mycoplasmal infections in the blood of

Gulf

> War veterans (n=8) and civilians (n=28) with Amyotrophic Lateral

> Sclerosis (ALS) and age matched controls (n=70) was investigated by

> detecting mycoplasma gene sequences with forensic Polymerase Chain

> Reaction (PCR) and back hybridization with a radiolabeled internal

> oligonucleotide probe.

>

> Almost all ALS patients (30/36 or approximately 83%) showed

evidence

> of Mycoplasma species in blood samples, whereas <9% of controls had

> blood mycoplasmal infections (P<0.001). Using PCR ALS patients with

> a positive test for any mycoplasmal infection were investigated for

> the presence of M. fermentans, M. pneumoniae, M. hominis and M.

> penetrans in their blood.

>

> All Gulf War veterans with ALS were positive for M. fermentans,

> except one that was positive for M. genitalium. In contrast, the

> 22/28 civilians with detectable mycoplasmal infections had M.

> fermentans (13/22, 59%) as well as other Mycoplasama species in

> their blood, and two of the civilian ALS patients had multiple

> mycoplasma species (M. fermentans plus M. hominis). Of the few

> control patients that were positive, only two patients (2/70, 2.8%)

> were positive for M. fermentans (P<0.001).

>

> The results support the suggestion that infectious agents may play

a

> role in the pathogenesis and/or progression of ALS, or

alternatively

> ALS patients are extremely susceptible to systemic mycoplasmal

> infections.

>

> Publication Types:

> Clinical Trial

>

> PMID: 12383408 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]