For Deb/Brooklyn, Crimson crescents, Throat Closing

[Guest guest]

Here is that information I promised about HHV6/crimson crescents:

CFS Patients' " Crimson Crescents " May Be Diagnostic Of The Syndrome

A Long Island physician who studies CFS, Dr. Burke A. Cunha, has

discovered what he calls " crimson crescents " in the throats of CFS

patients. The crescents are so distinctive that Dr. Cunha believes

that their presence indicates that CFS is present, even if the

physician (or the patient) observes no other indication of the

syndrome. Even more intriguing, Dr. Cunha has found that the

crescents are associated with high levels of Human Herpes Virus 6

(HHV-6), a virus that is found to be actively growing in AIDS and CFS

patients.

Dr. Cunha described his finding in a medical journal, and in November

1992, it was the cover story of the Infectious Disease News, a

newsletter for primary care physicians. The crescents are described

as being " crimson purple, " and looking like half of a crescent moon.

Dr. Cunha says the crescents occur in 80 percent of CFS patients.

After he reported his finding in the ls of Internal Medicine, Dr.

Cunha says he received calls from physicians all over the country.

They told Dr. Cunha that, once they knew to look for the crescents,

they were also finding them in their CFS patients.

Dr. Cunha thinks that many physicians may not have seen the crescents

because they occur on both sides of the back of the throat, behind

the back molars. Most physicians, Dr. Cunha remarked to Infectious

Disease News, don't really look at the sides of the throat.

Dr. Cunha is convinced that the crimson crescents are highly

correlated with CFS. " If your patient has crimson crescents, you can

now say it is probably chronic fatigue syndrome, " Dr. Cunha told

Infectious Disease News.

Dr. Cunha also said, however, that he has found the crimson crescents

in three to five percent of all patients who complain of sore throat -

- which may mean that the number of people who have CFS has been

grossly underestimated. The crescents have not been seen in patients

with other illnesses that produce sore throats, such as

mononucleosois, strep throat, cytomegalovirus infection of the

throat, or common viral sore throat.

Dr. Cunha thinks that the crescents may occur in CFS patients because

they are caused by the active HHV-6 found in the patients.

" I believe that the virus that causes chronic fatigue comes from

young adults or children who give it to adults, " Dr. Cunha told

Infectious Disease News. " ...I don't know why there is a difference,

but the children do not have chronic fatigue. HHV-6 is a virus of

children, and it may manifest as chronic fatigue in adults. "

Dr. Cunha is trying to culture HHV-6 out of the crescents, but he has

found that laboratories that perform throat cultures usually do not

have the facilities to detect HHV-6, which is a fairly new human

virus. To try to find HHV-6, he plans to perform biopsies on the

crescents, Dr. Cunha told Infectious Disease News.

Dr. Cunha also pointed out that increased HHV-6 and decreased natural

killer cell activity are the two most consistent laboratory findings

in CFS. He thinks that the presence of the crimson crescents by

themselves, however, are evidence enough that CFS is present.

" If you are a physician out in the middle of nowhere and you can't

get HHV-6 titers and you can't get the natural killer cell

percentage, then the crimson crescents may be the only way besides

history that can suggest the diagnosis " of CFS, Dr. Cunha told

Infectious Disease News.

Hope this is some help for you.