New press release from WPI just out

[Guest guest]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ie Vigil

R & R Partners for

Whittemore Institute

775-336-4555

frankie.vigil@...

Whittemore Institute Announces Availability of Updated XMRV Testing

Reno, Nev. - In October 2009, together with the Cleveland Clinic and

National Cancer Institute,

the Whittemore Institute published findings in Science regarding

the discovery of

XMRV in the blood of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) patients. The testing

method, validated

in multiple other labs using positive control samples, uses a unique process

that was extensively

peer reviewed before publication and provides the most accurate results

available.

This virus culture test is the same method used in the Science publication,

and the only

scientifically validated methodology to find XMRV. Some labs, including the

recent study

published in the U.K., have used non-validated PCR and whole blood PCR

assays. At this time

no single PCR or whole blood assay alone has been validated as accurately

detecting XMRV,

and is therefore not an appropriate way to study or diagnose the presence of

the virus.

WPI has licensed the latest version of the test to Viral Immune Pathways

Diagnostic

Laboratories (VIP Dx) in Reno, Nev. The non-exclusive license allows

patients and their doctors

access to a reliable diagnostic tool. The newly refined test uses a virus

culture methodology that

yields more reliable results in one test at a lower cost to patients.

³Our mission at WPI is to discover bio markers of disease and translate

those discoveries into

accurate diagnostics and effective treatments for patients,² said WPI

Founder and President

Annette Whittemore. ³We continue to talk to other clinical laboratory

companies, both nationally

and internationally, in order to make the test available to a wider

audience.²

WPI Research Scientist and co-author of the Science paper, Dr.

Lombardi, is providing

technical assistance and oversight of the VIP Dx testing. In exchange for

the non-exclusive

license, VIP Dx will pay a royalty to WPI for each test it conducts.

Continued

³We structured the licensing contract to be sure that any and all profits

that might emerge at VIP

Dx from XMRV testing come directly back to WPI to benefit the research

program² said

Whittemore.

Dr. Lombardi is an employee of WPI, and has no personal financial interest

in VIP Dx.

Likewise, the Whittemore family put their interest in VIP Dx into a trust to

benefit WPI.

The availability of these tests has a dramatic impact to the CFS/ME

community. These tests

allow licensed laboratories to begin answering important questions about

XMRV¹s incidence in

disease and prevalence in the world. WPI hopes that this will generate

further research related to

XMRV. " The institutes¹ driving goal continues to be the translation of

research to meaningful

results for patients, explained Whittemore.

It is still unknown exactly how XMRV impacts humans. Scientists who

understand the potential

ramifications of human infection with retroviruses take the study of XMRV

seriously. WPI

researchers along with many other scientists around the world are actively

engaged in advancing

research in this field.

Whittemore Institute

The Whittemore Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease exists to bring

discovery, knowledge,

and effective treatments to patients with illnesses that are caused by

acquired dysregulation of the

immune system and the nervous system, often results in lifelong disease and

disability. The WPI is

the first institute in the world dedicated to X associated neuro-immune

disease (XAND), and other X

associated diseases, integrating patient treatment, basic and clinical

research and medical

education.

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