FW: Joining the XMRV retrovirus movement. We have gone viral to help our kids!!!

[Guest guest]

P. S This is my last post for a little while

Dear Friends,

Some of us feel that the newly discovered retrovirus XMRV will bring new

treatments for those with chronic fatigue(CFS) and autism. (At the end of

this email there is a section with background information about XMRV.)

There is already a joint group made up of people from the autism and Chronic

Fatigue (CFS) worlds that have come together because of their interest in

XMRV research. Please sign up at

neuroimmune-xmrv-alliance/ to be keep

informed about XMRV advances. These people are way too smart for me and are

up on the latest research concerning this virus.

Best,

Marcia Hinds

Background Info on XMRV

There is a newly discovered retrovirus called XMRV getting a lot of

attention from the NIH and CDC. Recently, a soon to be published abstract

of a small study from Whittemore Institute (WPI) showed that 82% of

children with Autism tested positive for XMRV. The discovery of this virus

could provide new treatment options for people suffering from autism,

chronic fatigue, and possibly many other diseases.

XMRV is frighteningly similar in nature to the HIV retrovirus. XMRV was

first discovered in patients who had prostate cancer and now has been found

in people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). XMRV is currently

shown to be a possible cause/factor in the development of the following

diseases: Prostate Cancer, CFS, Autism, Fibromyalgia, MS, and certain

lymphomas and leukemia's.

In October of 2009 a paper was published by the WPI that showed 85% of the

patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome had this retrovirus in their blood.

This number becomes even more significant if you contrast it with the fact

that XMRV was found in only 4% of the general population and control group.

There is suspicion that this may have ramifications for those suffering from

Parkinson's disease as well.

XMRV FACTS

.. XMRV is the third known human retrovirus. The other 2 known

retroviruses include HIV and HTLV (both are dangerous and can be deadly).

.. XMRV stands for Xenotropic Murine Leukemia virus-Related Virus. It

is 96% genetically similar to the Murine Leukemia Virus, but it does not

infect mice, only humans. No one knows where this virus came from and how it

evolved/changed to a virus that only infects humans.

.. More than two thirds of the one million people in the United

States who suffer from chronic fatigue are infected with XMRV. The

Whittemore study examined the blood samples from 101 chronic fatigue

patients and compared them from samples of 218 healthy people. Approximately

67% of chronic fatigue sufferers had XMRV compared with less than 4% of the

healthy people. With improved testing this number increased to 98% for CFS

patients.

.. Judy Mikovits, research director of Whittemore Institute

at the University of Nevada Reno, is co-author of a study just published in

the journal Science Express that identifies a strong link between XRMV Virus

and CFS.

.. Judy Mikovits has stated that XMRV has " almost certainly entered

the U.S. blood supply system, but did not know whether it would be

susceptible to the same heat treatments that successfully kill off the AIDS

virus in blood products. "

.. A federal consortium is now working to determine the prevalence of

XMRV in the blood supply and the suitability of different detection methods.

.. In 2010, the association of XMRV and CFS (reported in Science) has

prompted Canada and Australia to disallow blood donations from individuals

with CFS. On June 18th 2010, the American Association of Blood Banks

recommended actively discouraging potential donors who have been diagnosed

by a physician as having CFS from donating blood or blood components. As of

November 1, 2010 people with CFS will no longer be able to donate blood in

the UK.

* It is very likely that most children who have Autism/Neuro-Immune

Dysfunction are infected with XMRV. Whether it causes Autism/Neuro-Immune

Dysfunction is yet to be understood, but very likely a pathogen that

deserves attention and treatment.

* Here is a link to the story in the Wall Street Journal:

<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704243904575630700111729446.h

tml>

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704243904575630700111729446.ht

ml