Topic: Is XMRV actually chronic Lyme disease? re: Dr Cheney
sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
This is some info I found today. It's from Dr. Cheney's website. He's a well respected CFS doctor. You have to subscribe for $49 a month to see the whole article. I don't have a subscription...
Please post any comments or further info if you have it. It's against the rules of Dr. Cheney's website to post the actual article, though.
Also- interesting link with hormones!
Just interested in what you folks over here might think of this...
--------
The immunosuppression of ERV's and XMRV - Is XMRV actually chronic Lyme disease?
Below is an interesting link to a thorough discussion on gammaretroviruses and the related human endogenous retroviruses ERV's of which there are 2,000 ERV genes located on a single human chromosome.
There are thousands of ERV's spread across the entire human DNA grouped into 24 families. XMRV has 95% homology with human ERV's.
What is very interesting about ERV's and likely true for XMRV is that they are TH1 immunosuppressive which is believed to be critical in the ability to get pregnant as the mother needs to be Th1 immunosuppressed to avoid rejection of the implanted fetus.
The hormones of pregnancy and especially progesterone are in part responsible for activating env proteins of ERV's which apparently are largely responsible for this immunosuppression.
It is likely that progesterone activates XMRV env protein and may explain why we see women with more CFS at 4 to 1 over men and the apparent vulnerability of adolescent girls to CFS onset and the relative reduction of the point prevalence of CFS in the elderly and in children compared to the young to middle ages.
I have also observed a reduction in severity of CFS symptoms in post-menopausal women though perhaps modulated by their use of HRT.
The related hormones to progesterone are pregnenolone and cortisol. I have seen both devastate a handful of CFS cases.
Continue reading
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
djf2005
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11449
posted
If this turns out to be a big deal, and really is causing so much pain for so many people, I would be greatly relieved.
Unfortunately, I doubt it is this simple.
But I'll be the first to take the treatment if that's the case....
I think we will see XMRV just another piece of the puzzle of a host of people w/ compromised immune systems with many issues, viruses being one of them....
I actually do hope to be proven wrong though!
-------------------- "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."
seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
Does anyone know if the other CFS world expert, Dr. Lerner subscribes to this XMRV theory?
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged |
sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
I couldn't read the full article since I don't subscribe to Dr. Cheney's newsletter. It would be interesting to see what is said.
I guess I'm very into this idea since I was tested for EBV & the others they commonly test for & I didn't seem to have them.
I did have CFS back in the 1980's. It went away for about 8 years & it came back as Fibro or Lyme? None of my tests seemed to be conclusive for anything...
The Whittmore Peterson Institute did seem to find XMRV in 95% of people who were diagnosed as having CFS. It also can be linked to autism & fibromyalgia from what I have read.
I believe there may be a genetic factor, as well. It's the case with AIDS. Some people are genetically resistant to it.
Here's an article about how stem cells from a person who was genetically resistant to AIDS were used to "cure" someone with AIDS & leukemia!
If this is the case - we may be able to get well by using stem cell therapy. I know this is a bit off the original topic but this may also be true if there's a connection to Lyme.
We probably just have to wait & see. I'm not sure all people with Lyme are really ill with Lyme. Or - they could have both Lyme & XMRV...
The stem cell therapy for the man with AIDS & leukemia cured both!
It's alot to consider. All of these things are complex & interconnected. If we could find one common thread - it may help to dismantle all of these illnesses.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/