Re: Fwd: Is Autism Associated with A Viral Infection?

October 15, 2009

Hi - I'm new on the - just wondering what the treatment for the XMRV

retrovirus is? What testing is there to find out if your child has this

retrovirus?

thanks

Lorelle (in Australia - mum to 11 year old boy with diagnosis of ASD)

>

> I posted this on one of the SLT sites I visit here in the UK,I hope it gets

> them thinking . When we returned from the US we found no support in the UK

> in trying to establish treatment for our boys based on Dr Goldberg's

> hypothesis or work.

>

> In a message dated 14/10/2009 22:12:11 GMT Daylight Time, Goldsmull writes:

>

> Not strictly applicable to Becta but for those professionals and parents

> who are driven to understand cause as opposed to symptom treatment this

> latest development from the Whittemore Institute is more than

> interesting. Clearly while this is potentially very exciting it needs more

> investigation but it would be great to see some paradigm shifting.

>

> The frightening year on year upward trend of Autism and other

> neurodevelopment disorders might finally have some scientific enquiry thrown

at it and

> all those parents who claimed their children regressed following

> vaccination or immune problems might not be crazy after all!!

>

> Dr Goldberg of course has long stated the obvious namely that you

> can not have a developmental/genetic epidemic.

> _http://www.nids.net/pdf/myth.pdf_ (http://www.nids.net/pdf/myth.pdf) and

the Whittmore findings

> support his hypothesis.

>

> Here is a video link that features Annette Whittemore, president and

> founder

> > of the Whittemore Institute and Dr. Judy Mikovits... and they

> > discuss the autism link

>

> > _http://nevadanewsmahttp://ne_ (http://nevadanewsmakers.com/)

>

> _Is Autism Associated with A Viral Infection?_

>

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/is-autism-associated-with_b_316986.ht\

ml)

>

> Last week, researchers from the University of Nevada, the National Cancer

> Institute and The Cleveland Clinic announced the startling discovery of

> antibodies to a little known retrovirus in 95% of patients with Myalgic

> Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a debilitating

neuro-immune

> disease impacting more than a million people in the United States.

> The finding, published in the highly respected journal Science, " clearly

> points to the retrovirus as a significant contributing factor in this

> illness, " said lead author Judy Mikovits, Ph.D., director of research for the

> _Whittemore Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease_

> (http://www.wpinstitute.org/index.html) , which is affiliated with the

_University of Nevada,

> Reno_

>

(http://www.medicine.nevada.edu/news/university-commends-research-breakthrough-b\

y-whittemore-peterson.htm) . It was the first study to isolate

> particles of the retrovirus, XMRV, in human blood and demonstrate that it is

> transmitted between blood cells. XMRV was first discovered in prostate cancer

> tissue of men with certain genetic defects. Like the more well-known

> retrovirus, HIV, this pathogen is blood-borne, and not transmitted through

the

> air.

> The findings have potential significance for a number of other disorders

> including, it turns out, autism.

> Researchers tested blood samples from a " small group of children " with

> autism and found that 40% of them were positive for XMRV, according to a

> statement from the Nevada Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders. More

testing

> is underway which, the Commission said, " could dramatically increase that

> 40% positive finding. " (Given the small sample size, such a statement is

> purely speculative).

> As Dr. Mikovits explained to a _television news program_

> (http://nevadanewsmakers.com/) in Nevada, " It is not in the paper and not

reported, but we

> have actually done some of these studies (in ASD children) and found the

> virus in a significant number of samples that we have tested for. It could be

> linked to a number of neuro-immune diseases, including autism. It certainly

> won't be all, because there are genetic defects that result in autism. But

> there are also the environmental effects; there is always the hypothesis

> that, 'My child was fine and then they got sick, and then they got autism.' "

> According to Dr. Mikovits, XMRV (which admittedly sounds like a satellite

> radio system for your Winnebago) can lie dormant in people, until it is

> " turned on or off " by other factors, such as stress hormones like cortisol, or

> in response to the presence of inflammatory " cytokines, " protein molecules

> secreted by immune cells to help regulate the immune system.

> And then Dr. Mikovits dropped a bombshell that is sure to spark

> controversy.

> " On that note, if I might speculate a little bit, " she said, " This might

> even explain why vaccines would lead to autism in some children, because

> these viruses live and divide and grow in lymphocytes -- the immune response

> cells, the B and the T cells. So when you give a vaccine, you send your B and

> T cells in your immune system into overdrive. That's its job. Well, if you

> are harboring one virus, and you replicate it a whole bunch, you've now

> broken the balance between the immune response and the virus. So you have had

> the underlying virus, and then amplified it with that vaccine, and then

> set off the disease, such that your immune system could no longer control

> other infections, and created an immune deficiency. "

> So there you have it - a possible explanation of regressive autism in a

> significant number of cases associated with immune system deregulation

> triggered by vaccination.

> Of course, much more work is needed to nail down the exact significance of

> such an association. For example, is the virus implicated in the cause of

> autism, or do children harbor the virus as a result of autism?

> Either way, it is notable that such questions are being asked by mainstream

> sources such as the University of Nevada, and by extension the NCI and the

> Cleveland Clinic: Can XMRV infection plus vaccination create the right

> conditions for regressive autism? That remains to be seen. But it also means

> that the thousands of parents who claim their children did regress shortly

> after vaccination may not be so crazy and " fringe " as they have been

> portrayed by experts such as Dr. Offit of Children's Hospital of

Philadelphia

> and Dr. Insel, head of the National Institute of Mental Health and

> Chair of the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC).

> " We certainly are advocating vaccinations and how important those are to

> the well being of the children, " explained Annette Whittemore, founder of the

> Whittemore Institute.

> " But what we are hoping for is, by finding out whether or not one is

> positive to XMRV, whether it is in one family member or another, and then

> looking for it in children, you could alter the immune response in such a way

> that you can protect the child and still be able to vaccinate and avoid autism

> in these kids. And again, I don't think ether one of us is sitting here

> saying, 'Vaccinations cause autism,' but rather a number of factors; a genetic

> susceptibility to the illness, to the infection itself, and then on top of

> that you are adding something to that mix that takes that child over the

> top. "

> Apparently, the CFS findings have impressed the scientific community. " We

> presented these data three times: Twice at closed conferences at the NIH,

> and one at an international meeting a few weeks ago, and you could hear a pin

> drop in the audience - it's amazement " Mikovits said. " The scientists are

> excited, everyone is working on it, so we know we are going to get a lot of

> help. It's just amazement, it's an entirely new field of medicine and

> everyone who's ever worked in this family of viruses is, now that we've shown

> it's a human pathogen, is extremely excited. "

> Whittemore added that researchers hoped to develop a vaccine against XMRV

> quickly, noting that " It would be easier to find a vaccine against this than

> HIV, because it is a simple retrovirus. "

> The discovery raises more questions than it answers. What, exactly, is it

> about immunization that might switch on XMRV viral expression? Could the

> effect of heavy metals upon cytokine balances be at play? Where did this

> retrovirus come from, and how did it apparently become so prevalent in

children

> with autism? Did these children inherit the virus from a parent, or was

> there some other unexplained route of transmission? Why has the NIH said

> nothing about XMRV in association with autism, and did Dr. Insel know about

> these findings without sharing them with the IACC?

> Finally, Dr. Insel has said that a vaccine against autism may one day be

> developed. Was he actually referring to a vaccine against XMRV, and what

> role, if any, might he or _members of his family_

>

(http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/08/when-vaccine-development-is-family-business-\

thomas-insels-conflicted-r

> ole-on-vaccines-and-autism.html) play in the development of such a

> vaccine?

> According to Insel's _own biography_

> (http://www.med.umich.edu/depression/bio/insel_bio.htm) , in 1994, he went to

Emory University, Atlanta as a

> Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and Director of the Yerkes

Regional

> Primate Research Center. " As director of Yerkes, " his bio says, " Dr. Insel

> built one of the nation's leading HIV vaccine research programs. "

>

> Read more at:

>

_http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/is-autism-associated-with_b_316986.ht\

ml_

>

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/is-autism-associated-with_b_316986.ht\

ml)

>

October 15, 2009

This is very interesting.... I have posted in the past that I have been giving

my son Ibuprofen and it is one of the medications that has been the most helpful

for my son. The second medication is the gamma globulin shots and SSRI third

most beneficial. Now, if my son is infected with XMRV, it makes sense why the

Ibuprofen has worked so great. Ibuprofen inhibits cytokines (search google for

ibuprofen inhibits cytokines).

So, could it be possible since the XMRV virus multiples in the presence of

cytokines, then it would not be able to multiply itself when the child is taking

Ibuprofen? Is that why the diet also helps our children so much. Food

allergies also results in the creation of cytokines which leads to inflammation.

The whole protocol focuses on reducing inflammation, which at some point

could bring the XMRV virus to its latent state?

I am just hypothesizing over here....

What do you think?

Thanks,

JR

But

there are also the environmental effects; there is always the hypothesis

that, 'My child was fine and then they got sick, and then they got autism.' "

According to Dr. Mikovits, XMRV (which admittedly sounds like a satellite

radio system for your Winnebago) can lie dormant in people, until it is

" turned on or off " by other factors, such as stress hormones like cortisol, or

in response to the presence of inflammatory " cytokines, " protein molecules

secreted by immune cells to help regulate the immune system.

And then Dr. Mikovits dropped a bombshell that is sure to spark

controversy.

From: goldsmull@...

Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:18:13 -0400

Subject: Fwd: Is Autism Associated with A Viral Infection?

I posted this on one of the SLT sites I visit here in the UK,I hope it gets

them thinking . When we returned from the US we found no support in the UK

in trying to establish treatment for our boys based on Dr Goldberg's

hypothesis or work.

In a message dated 14/10/2009 22:12:11 GMT Daylight Time, Goldsmull writes:

Not strictly applicable to Becta but for those professionals and parents

who are driven to understand cause as opposed to symptom treatment this

latest development from the Whittemore Institute is more than

interesting. Clearly while this is potentially very exciting it needs more

investigation but it would be great to see some paradigm shifting.

The frightening year on year upward trend of Autism and other

neurodevelopment disorders might finally have some scientific enquiry thrown at

it and

all those parents who claimed their children regressed following

vaccination or immune problems might not be crazy after all!!

Dr Goldberg of course has long stated the obvious namely that you

can not have a developmental/genetic epidemic.

_http://www.nids.net/pdf/myth.pdf_ (http://www.nids.net/pdf/myth.pdf) and the

Whittmore findings

support his hypothesis.

Here is a video link that features Annette Whittemore, president and

founder

> of the Whittemore Institute and Dr. Judy Mikovits... and they

> discuss the autism link

> _http://nevadanewsmahttp://ne_ (http://nevadanewsmakers.com/)

_Is Autism Associated with A Viral Infection?_

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/is-autism-associated-with_b_316986.ht\

ml)

Last week, researchers from the University of Nevada, the National Cancer

Institute and The Cleveland Clinic announced the startling discovery of

antibodies to a little known retrovirus in 95% of patients with Myalgic

Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a debilitating neuro-immune

disease impacting more than a million people in the United States.

The finding, published in the highly respected journal Science, " clearly

points to the retrovirus as a significant contributing factor in this

illness, " said lead author Judy Mikovits, Ph.D., director of research for the

_Whittemore Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease_

(http://www.wpinstitute.org/index.html) , which is affiliated with the

_University of Nevada,

Reno_

(http://www.medicine.nevada.edu/news/university-commends-research-breakthrough-b\

y-whittemore-peterson.htm) . It was the first study to isolate

particles of the retrovirus, XMRV, in human blood and demonstrate that it is

transmitted between blood cells. XMRV was first discovered in prostate cancer

tissue of men with certain genetic defects. Like the more well-known

retrovirus, HIV, this pathogen is blood-borne, and not transmitted through the

air.

The findings have potential significance for a number of other disorders

including, it turns out, autism.

Researchers tested blood samples from a " small group of children " with

autism and found that 40% of them were positive for XMRV, according to a

statement from the Nevada Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders. More testing

is underway which, the Commission said, " could dramatically increase that

40% positive finding. " (Given the small sample size, such a statement is

purely speculative).

As Dr. Mikovits explained to a _television news program_

(http://nevadanewsmakers.com/) in Nevada, " It is not in the paper and not

reported, but we

have actually done some of these studies (in ASD children) and found the

virus in a significant number of samples that we have tested for. It could be

linked to a number of neuro-immune diseases, including autism. It certainly

won't be all, because there are genetic defects that result in autism. But