Posted by Cort Johnson Dr. Peterson Leaves the Building (er Construction Site) – Our putative ‘April surprise’ turned out to be a real shocker. Six months prior to the WPI opening in its new facility the WPI announced that he was leaving the Medical Director’s position at the WPI and returning to practice at his clinic. Both parties have remained
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Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) Research
Dr. Mikovits Chat’s on XMRV
Posted by Cort Johnson Dr. Mikovits has been in touch with patients more than any other researcher by several magnitudes and a couple of days ago I got to chat with her on a variety of topics. Some questions had been raised about the WPI’s two collaborators in the Science paper, the National Cancer Institute and the Cleveland Clinic. We
ContinueXMRV and ME/CFS: Check, Check, Check
Posted by Cort Johnson The past few months have not been easy for XMRV. The head of the Dutch study flatly stated that he believed the WPI’s samples had been contaminated. Dr. Shepard’s assessment was nothing if not gloomy and Dr. Vernon’s seemed to suggest that if the WPI’s results stood up that they probably applied only for a select
ContinueXMRV’s Big Test Has Begun: The Fed Study Ramps Up
Posted by Cort Johnson Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal we finally got a look at what will surely be the most comprehensive XMRV study that we’ll see. It will surely clear up many of the questions surrounding the virus. It’s a full bore effort; one that probably only the federal government could take on. Six labs will be involved
ContinueLight in the Darkness: Good News Ahead For XMRV by Cort Johnson
Posted by Cort Johnson (The Bringing the Heat Blog was down for about 1 month. Get ready for a slew of blogs to come your way’) A month ago the head Dutch researcher, Kuppeveld, stated that he considered XMRV story over. After what he described as an intense effort to find the virus failed he was folding up shop on
ContinueVirologists Assess XMRV by Cort Johnson
Posted by Cort Johnson Dr. Goff, one of the top retrovirologists in the field, taked with Dr. Racaniello about XMRV for almost an hour. This was a rare opportunity to hear how experts in the field assess the XMRV/CFS connection. Here’s my take on what they said from the XMRV Buzz Page XMRV and the Prostate – One way researchers
ContinueMuddy Waters: XMRV and ME/CFS by Cort Johnson
Posted by Cort Johnson The patient community has been on a wild ride lately. No, no studies have been published but patients are digging deeper into the studies and coming up with some surprising findings. Three er… Make That Two CFS XMRV Validation Studies? After digging deeper into the cohort from the last Dutch study Parvofighter on the Phoenix Rising
ContinueThird Time is Not the Charm: Dutch Study Finds No XMRV in CFS
Posted by Cort Johnson A small Dutch study found zero evidence of XMRV in chronic fatigue syndrome patients. In some ways it was the weakest study of the bunch; it used quite old samples and a watered down criteria but it did use the same primers and a similar amount of nucleic acid as the original study. They searched for
ContinueA Guide to XMRV Research: the WPI Answers Back
Posted by Cort Johnson The inability of the second UK XMRV study – this time from a ‘friendly’ research group headed by Dr. Groom – to find any XMRV in a very large sample of patients was rough news for sure. The ME Action Group in the UK took a rather resigned tone in their response while Dr. Vernon highlighted
ContinueXMRV UK CFS Study II: Dr. Vernon’s Analysis
Posted by Cort Johnson As expected Dr. Vernon, the Scientific Director of the CFIDS Association, delivered a rather comprehensive overview of the latest XMRV study in the Retrovirology journal. Dr. Vernon spent some time making clear who just who did this study; it was basically the best of UK retroviral researchers (one ‘world-renowned’) plus top ME/CFS UK researchers with long
ContinueDeja Vu in the UK – XMRV CFS Study Negative Again!
Posted by Cort Johnson UK researchers are not winning the hearts and minds of CFS patients – that’s for sure. Just a couple of uplifting weeks after Dr. Mikovits displayed so much enthusiasm and confidence in XMRV the other shoe has dropped. An Imperial College researcher said another negative study was coming and here it is; this UK study also
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A Look Back at Dr. Reeves CDC
Posted by Cort Johnson A look back at the Pro’s and Con’s of Dr. Reeves Tenure at the CDC THE PRO’s – despite the antagonism towards Dr. Reeves there were some pro’s to his program A commitment to research – whatever you want to say about Dr. Reeves he was a vigorous ME/CFS researcher. We can’t know what the internal
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