Date: October 13, 2009
URL: =20
http://di.se/Nyheter/?page=3D/Artiklar/Viruset_bakom_kronisk_trotthet_och_pr=
ostatacancer_hittat_.aspx?ArticleID=3D2009\10%5C13\356695
The text below was translated from Swedish to English
by Google-translation (http://www.google.com/language_tools )
Rem: It was announced recently by ME Research UK and the Irish
ME Trust that Jonas Blomberg (http://www.ucg.uu.se/JBlomberg.html )
and Carl-Gerhard Gottfries (http://www.gottfriesclinic.com ,
http://www.gefrix.com ) will take care of an 'Independent
confirmation of the relationship between XMRV and ME/CFS in
Sweden'.
The virus of chronic fatigue and prostate cancer found?
-------------------------------------------------------
A newly discovered virus may be responsible for both prostate
cancer and the mysterious disease, chronic fatigue syndrome,
according to U.S. researchers. The findings have triggered a
frantic activity including here in Sweden.
Nobody knows what the virus does, how common it is and how it
infects. "This is the most exciting since the HIV virus was
discovered. It is something we will hear very much about the
next few years", says Jonas Blomberg, professor of clinical
virology at Uppsala University.
He and his associates are now planning a study to analyze the
presence of the virus XMRV among Swedish patients with prostate
cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic
encephalomyelitis (ME). "We have already test well, it's only
the samples taken," said Jonas Blomberg.
The facts are that U.S. teams have found the virus in one
quarter of the 200 evaluated aggressive prostate tumors compared
to six percent among the healthy controls (PNAS 090908), and in
68 of 101 patients with fatigue syndrome, compared with just
under four in every hundred among the healthy controls (Science
091,008).
"When I first saw this I knew not what to think of it's two
radically different diagnoses," says Jonas Blomberg.
Inflammation could be the common denominator. The virus may be
immune system to react in some way that leads to illness, but
how it then goes to is still a mystery.
The newly discovered virus XMRV (xenotrophic murine leukemia-
related viruses), is a so-called gammaretorvirus. There are in
the genome of mice. Anyway so far unknown way the virus seems
to have taken over from mice to humans - is unclear when, but
probably fairly recently.
The latest studies suggest that four to six percent of the
population in different parts of the United States are carriers,
but even that is unclear and need to be addressed in future
studies.
That prostate cancer exists, no question, but a diagnosis of
chronic fatigue syndrome has been questioned since the 1800s.
And is characterized by a marked, persistent fatigue that is not
going over with sleep. In addition, patients often diffuse
symptoms such as pain and signs that the immune system is
affected and reduced. Patients are often passed around between
psychiatric and somatic care.
How many people are affected in Sweden is unclear, Insurance
statistics on diagnoses that provide sick pay and sick pay are
not as detailed, but in the whole world believed 17 million
people suffer from the state, the researchers write in Science.
The new findings mean that patients with chronic fatigue probably
can look forward to a diagnostic test in the future, given that
U.S. scientists' findings are in other studies. And if the virus
can be specifically linked to disease emergence, it may even be
able to deal with effective drugs.
"This is really light in the tunnel for ME patients", says Jonas
Blomberg.
But many questions remain to be answered. To begin with, other
research groups, which Blomberg, repeating the U.S. researchers'
findings before the findings can be taken for scientific truth.
And if the virus can actually be linked to the disease must have
sort out what it does to the human body, and why some people get
sick but not others. The virus is directly involved in disease
emergence, or it just happens to be there as a result of a general
immuno-compromised?
How contagious XMRV is also unknown. The scientists who pioneered
the discovery inclined to sexual transmission, perhaps because the
virus has some similarities to HIV. Other researchers think more
of blood transmitted infections.
"How severe is the risk of blood banks? Should we consider testing
the blood?" says Stuart Le Grice, Director at the U.S. National
Cancer Institute, the New York Times. He adds that there are no
signs that the virus spread in the population. "I do not want to
scare anyone."
--------
(c) 2009 De.se
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