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
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Research into XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
Virologists 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
ContinueXMRV: the Urgency of Money
Posted by Cort Johnson In a recent article on RJC.com Dr. Mikovits came out swinging. Fights between researchers can get nasty but its probably rare that they veer into this kind of territory. After suggesting that the Imperial College group purposefully tried not to find the virus (!) Dr. Mikovits referred to the fact that the paper was paid for,
ContinueThe Imperial College XMRV Replication Study: XMRV in Trouble….or Not?
Posted by Cort Johnson And if you see some negative papers coming out, don’t be discouraged. It’s going to happen. There are going to be some negative papers. People really jump to do this. And the method is not that easy and getting the right bits and pieces you need together (is not easy)” Dr. Nancy Klimas The Brits Smack XMRV…Or
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2009 In Review
Posted by Cort Johnson EVENTS Biggest Event – what else? XMRV takes the spotlight as no research finding has before, retrovirologists across the world clamor for samples, worry mounts about a tainted blood supply, Hilary Johnson blows into the New York Times Op Ed section, and patients gasp and cross their fingers in hopes that it will all work out. See XMRV
ContinueResearcher of the Year (08) Part II: A Bold Commitment Plus XMRV and the CAA
Posted by Cort Johnson A Bold Effort Collaboration – Dr. Vernon believes increased collaboration will be essential for our research community’s success. She knows the power collaboration can unleash. The Pharmacogenomics projects she lead at the CDC – which ended up thrusting ME/CFS into the research spotlight and helped triggered the National Press Conference – was the result of a
ContinueXMRV in the Spotlight
Posted by Cort Johnson XMRV was next up at the mike at the CFSAC meeting. First Dr. Peterson went over the published research one more time. Hearing it again simply reinforced what an extraordinary discovery XMRV may be. His presentation was, in some ways, though, really just a prelude to Dr. Coffin’s presentation. The co-author of the major text in
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