Guest guest Posted December 16, 1999 Report Share Posted December 16, 1999 Dear , Thanks for replying about your RNase L test. When do you find out if you are on Ampligen or a placebo? Will you be retested for the RNase L after you find out? You say the ratio portion of your test was 0.7--was that in the normal range? How long ago was that test done? My daughter's test, which was quite recent, says the normal range is less than 2. Hers was 3.9. I was interested in your hormone tests. What were the symptoms that caused your doctor to test for estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone, etc.? I think it's great that Dr. flies the pellets to Belgium personally. That is dedication! I made a mistake when I posted that our daughter's pellet took three months to get there. Actually it was less than one month, because the wonderful New Jersey lab shipped her specimen to the Southwest (Arizona?) where it joined some specimens from Ampligen patients, and got there quicker. Sue B. upstate New York Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2001 Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 Hi, Rich, >In people with CFS, it has been found that there is >a smaller RNase molecule than in normal people. This is called RNase-L, >where the L stands for low >molecular weight. It was reported in Seattle that >this smaller one comes from cleavage of the normal >one by certain other enzymes. > >Apparently having this smaller one causes problems. I don't fully >understand this, but I think that it >is difficult to shut this process off, and it keeps >breaking down RNA that the cell actually needs. > >The drug Ampligen, which is very expensive, has been >found to help this condition in some people who have >the RNase-L. > You have the right idea. However, RNase L is the name of the activity, both in the standard large size and the low MW size. (There are a wide variety of RNase activities, identified by letters. The only one I remember is RNase H, which digests the RNA strand out of a RNA-DNA duplex.) The low MW RNase L is present in much higher concentration, activity-wise, than the normal RNase L. (The lowMW stuff will degrade more RNA than the standard RNase L, even if there is more of the standard size.) The idea is that the standard RNase L is an anti-viral defense - it will presumably degrade viral RNA (many viruses use RNA for their genetic material instead of DNA; retroviruses are one such family) that is free in the bloodstream, and may work in concert with other enzymes to break down intact viruses. Ampligen, and other dsRNAs (double-stranded RNAs) act to " induce " (cause the manufacture of) RNase L. But when the lowMW form gets loose, it starts degrading RNA from all over. This may connect with the RNA in the bloodstream that Cheney has found - either being induced to degrade it, or being involved in its formation. Jerry _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2001 Report Share Posted February 23, 2001 Jerry > The idea is that the standard RNase L is an anti-viral defense Do you know if it can also be an anti-intracellular bacterial defense? Nelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 26, 2001 Report Share Posted February 26, 2001 Hi, Nelly - re RNase L >Do you know if it can also be an anti-intracellular bacterial defense? No, I don't think it can, because bacteria including intracellular parasites all use DNA as their genetic material. Any RNA that they may release (so it is available to be degraded by RNase L) can be replaced. Also, almost all bacterial RNA is single-stranded. Since RNase L only degraded double-stranded RNA, it wouldn't work anyway. It is only viruses that release a large amount of dsRNA as a regular part of their life cycle; so they are the only ones that RNase L will be useful against. Jerry _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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