other researchers, the six month requirement for diagnosis for CFS may
meet the requirements for chronic (six months), but it also makes it
difficult to find viruses in the body as the lytic phase (active
infectious phase) is a very small window of time.
The latent phase allows viruses to hide in tissues that are much less
accessible in living patients than the blood. Now if you're dead it's
easy to slice up the brain to look for viruses for example, but this
cannot be done with living patients. Even the cerebral spinal fluid,
although accessible, can only be accessed by a very invasive procedure
with far more potential to harm the patient than having blood drawn.
It should also be noted that transfer factors are not inexpensive to
develop and as a result are relatively expensive and usually not
covered by insurance thus making them inaccessible to many patients.
And results are not guaranteed.
Viruses, and Viral Infections as a Component of Chronic Illness
ProHealth.com
by Neil Nathan, MD*
January 18, 2012
Dr. Neil Nathan, a specialist in diagnosis and treatment of complex
medical illnesses, practices with=A0Gordan Medical Associates=A0near
Mendocino, CA. This information is excerpted with kind permission from
his book=A0On Hope and Healing for Those Who Have Fallen Through the
Medical Cracks=A0=A92010 Neil Nathan, MD, all rights reserved.
Viral Infections
Bacteria are single-celled organisms with a nucleus and a cell
membrane. They, like all cells, have to metabolize, make new
structures, obtain nutrients, remove wastes, and =91breathe=92 in one form
or another.
Viruses, on the other hand, are a different critter entirely. They
consist of a core of genetic material, either RNA or DNA, so that the
virus can replicate itself, and the viruses are wrapped in a coat of
protein.
A virus doesn=92t have a nucleus, really, nor does it need to =91breathe=92
or carry out other typical functions of cells. It isn=92t clear if it is
really alive or not, since all it does is reproduce itself, which we
experience as an invasion of our body.
Once again, it is our intact immune system that allows us to recognize
the foreign nature of the virus and fight it off. Usually it does so
relatively easily, and the majority of viral infections, when they are
eradicated, are gone. We may have even developed long-lasting immunity
to that virus.
However, there is a whole family of viruses which are uniquely
difficult for us to deal with.
They are the herpes viruses, and we number them from 1 to 8, each with
a different name and slightly different focus of infection. This table
illustrates these types and their common traits.
Herpes Virus Species=A0=A0 Abbrev.=A0=A0 Diseases Caused
Herpes simplex virus-1=A0=A0=A0 HSV-1=A0=A0=A0=A0 Oral herpes
Herpes simplex virus-2=A0=A0=A0 HSV-2=A0=A0=A0=A0 Genital herpes
Varicella-Zoster virus=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 VZV=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 Chi=
cken pox, shingles
Epstein-Barr virus=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 EBV=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0 Mononucleosis
Cytomegalovirus=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 CMV=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0 =93Mono-like=94 flu
Human Herpes virus-6=A0=A0=A0=A0 HHV-6=A0=A0=A0=A0 Roseola, MS, fatigue
Human herpes virus-7=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 HHV-7=A0=A0=A0=A0 Pityriasis rosea
Human herpes virus-8=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 HHV-8=A0=A0=A0=A0 Kaposi=92s sarcoma
Most of us are familiar with many of these viral strains. What the
members of this family have in common is the ability to=A0hide=A0from our
immune system so that we don=92t completely recognize or eradicate it.
In fact, new research shows us that these viruses actually have
methods for altering the structure of their DNA to facilitate this
hiding process.
What we have known for quite some time is that when the virus feels
threatened by our immune system, it can move deep into our nerve cells
and wait until the immune surveillance goes away.
The most obvious example of this is shingles, in which the virus goes
directly into the nerve ganglions and specifically infects nerve
tissue. Sometimes the virus lingers, causing a rather severe pain
called postherpetic neuralgia.
Years ago, when chronic fatigue syndrome first began to appear, it was
proposed that chronic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was a cause. An
excellent paper by=A0Dr. Jay Goldstein, who pioneered some of the early
understanding and treatment of chronic fatigue, provided evidence for
this connection.
Unfortunately, EBV is a common infection, and conventional medicine
dismissed it as an irrelevant cause of chronic illness since
=91everyone=92 had it. It was also true at that time that we physicians
had little or nothing to offer in the way of treatment, so this
component of chronic fatigue lay neglected.
Several recent developments have spurred our interest in chronic viral
infections as a component of chronic illness.
One is new research by=A0Dr. Jose Montoya, an infectious disease
specialist from Stanford University. He administered large doses of
antiviral antibiotic (Valcyte and Valtrex) to afflicted patients for
six months, and these medications initially showed significant
improvement in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome who tested
positive to Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and EBV.
Unfortunately these benefits did not hold, but the research gives us
hope that successful treatments may be just around the corner.
While it is true that most people test positive for exposure to these
viruses, those with chronic fatigue have significantly higher viral
titers on blood tests, and newer methods of detection for these
viruses are more accurate. Our detection methods are still nowhere
near as accurate as we need them to be, but it=92s a start.
More recently, a unique treatment for these viruses was developed by
Dr. Joe Brewer, an infectious disease specialist in Kansas City.
Brewer created a =93transfer factor=94 specific for each virus he wanted
to treat. That is, since cows do not get these specific viral
infections, he injected purified forms of several (HHV-6, CMV, EBV,
and herpes viruses 1, 2, and 3) into pregnant cows=92 udders, so that
they made antibodies to each virus.
He purified the antibody into a form called a transfer factor [not an
antibody but a "reminder"], which is now available for oral use from
several different companies.
He discovered that if the patients took the transfer factor supplement
for six months, some of them got well but soon relapsed. If they took
it for a year, 40% were cured. After 18 months, 60% were cured. And
the longer the product was used, the less the chance of relapse.
For the first time, true cures of these chronic viral illnesses were
possible. Even though a complete cure takes longer, those who respond
usually note marked improvement after four months.
Kendra's Story
35-year-old Kendra came to my office with a history of sporadic
fatigue and cognitive difficulties, along with episodes of asthma. She
had already been treated for mercury toxicity and had responded well
to chelation treatments. Her DHEA level was low at 192 ng/dL (normal
for her age should have been around 650 ng/dL), so I provided DHEA
supplementation, and I also treated her food allergies.
These led to modest benefits, until we discovered an elevated EBV
viral titer (a blood test showing antibodies to EBV virus and
quantifying it), and began her on transfer factor supplementation
specific for EBV virus.
When Kendra began taking the transfer factors, she became much more
fatigued and had a recurrence of most of her symptoms. While this is
of concern, it is not unusual and actually confirms EBV as a
significant component of her illness.
If it wasn't, she would have had no reaction to the transfer factors
at all. So we decreased the starting dose, and she cut back on the
frequency of taking it to every third day until she was able to
tolerate the transfer factors with no side effects.
Slowly but steadily, over several months, she was able to work up to
the full dose of supplement, and by the fourth month reported marked
improvement in all of her symptoms. At that point she discovered that
if she missed a few doses, symptoms would return, only to disappear
when she took them more faithfully.
Kendra was able to discontinue the transfer factors after 18 months
and her progress held steady.
[Note: This information on viral infections is part of "Chapter 12:
Chronic Infections" in Dr. Nathan's book,=A0On Hope and Healing for
Those Who Have Fallen Through the Medical Cracks. Other topics include
Superbugs, Lyme disease, Biofilm, PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune and
neurological diseases caused by Strep), Cell Wall Deficient Bacteria,
and Mycobacteria.]
____
* Dr. Nathan is perhaps best known to ProHealth readers for his recent
trial of=A0"A simplified Methylation Protocol for Treatment of ME/CFS
and Fibromyalgia,"=A0conducted in collaboration with Drs. Amy Yasko,
Rich Van Konynenburg, and Jacob Teitelbaum.
Disclaimer: This information has not been evaluated by the FDA. It is
general information, based on the research and opinions of Dr. Nathan;
is not meant to prevent, diagnose, treat or cure any condition,
illness, or disease; and is not intended to be, and cannot be taken
as, professional advice to any individual. It is very important that
you make no change in your healthcare plan or health support regimen
without researching and discussing it in collaboration with your
professional healthcare team.
http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=3D16758
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