This will be two-day old news for most of you reading this; however, I wanted to briefly post about it anyway, as it is so rare to get such major and potentially groundbreaking new findings in ME/CFS research.
On October 8th, researchers at the Whittemore-Peterson Institute, the Cleveland Clinic and the National Cancer Institute published a study that reports 67% of ME/CFS subjects tested positive for infection with xenotropic murine leukemia virus–related virus (XMRV), a retrovirus previously associated with prostate cancer. The only other types of known human retroviruses are HIV (which causes AIDS), and HTLV-1 and 2 (which cause certain types of leukemia and lymphoma, respectively). XMRV is a newly discovered retrovirus, and its full implications are not yet known or understood.
Further testing since the study's completion showed a full 95% of ME/CFS patients tested were infected. Only 3.7% of healthy subjects were positive for the virus.
As I am too ill right now to fully formulate my thoughts or give much comment, I am just going to include some informational links as resources. It's quite a bit of info to absorb.
To view the scientific paper published in Science, click here.
For some of the scientific articles and press releases regarding the study, check out the following:
National Cancer Institute Press Release,
Scientific American
Science News
and for just some of the multitude of media stories:
BBC
New York Times
NPR
Wall Street Journal
LA Times
This finding obviously raises a lot of questions. For some of the answers, view the Whittemore-Peterson's Q&A section. The resource page at Phoenix Rising is also very helpful and informative.
Ultimately, what does all this mean? Only time will tell. But I, among many, am incredibly hopeful the answers are finally starting to arrive.
Hello! I am a 23-year-old woman with CFS/ME, and I've recently started a blog to find and give support with others who have the same issues. This is some of the most exciting news, but you're right-- we'll see how it pans out. Anyway, I'm following your blog now, and I'd love if you'd follow mine too: http://otherdumbquestions.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThanks!
I do feel this is such exciting news. I suspect it will be only part of a complex illness.
ReplyDeleteAt least ME/CFS will be accepted as a physical illness something the patients knew all along.
Hopefully it will open doors into more serious research and will one day help many to recover their health and lives.
I too am hopeful. I think its an important piece of the puzzle. I'm looking forward to seeing where this all leads.
ReplyDelete