Potential Animal (Zoonotic) Virus Identified
in Patients with CFS,
MS, and Epilepsy

www.fms-help.com
I received the fascinating article below from Steve, who
wrote: "This is from research funded by the National
CFIDS Foundation, a much worthier group to support than the CFIDS
Association of America which is now under the thumb of the CDC and their stress
theories about CFS." Another reader, Alice, sent me this same article with
the comment: "Cryptovirus, like Parainfluenza virus
type 5, is now thought to be the pathogen which affects some of the
weak genes those with CFS and MS have.
Genetically vulnerable, it seems." - Dominie
Potential Animal (Zoonotic) Virus Identified
in Patients with
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,
Multiple Sclerosis and
Epilepsy
Needham,
MA May 31, 2006 -- Recent independent scientific
research funded by the National CFIDS Foundation, Inc. (NCF)
of Needham, MA provided preliminary confirmation of a new
virus identified in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
The
Foundation's medical research dovetails with that completed to
date
by Cryptic Afflictions, LLC *, a private company.
Dr. Steven J. Robbins,
virologist and Chief Executive Officer of
Cryptic Afflictions, LLC has
discovered a major neuropathogen
identified as an RNA virus
designated as Cryptovirus.
Substantial clinical and molecular
evidence indicates that this
virus is involved in the development of
neurological disorders
that include Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also
known as
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) by the World Health
Organization, Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) and Idiopathic Epilepsy
of
unknown cause.
According to the company, "This previously undetected
virus
appears to be of significant importance to researchers looking
for
a cure to Multiple Sclerosis and many other neurological
illnesses.
Antibodies to the newly discovered virus were found in the
cerebrospinal fluid and blood of over 90% of the patients tested
with
Multiple Sclerosis. It is believed that this newly discovered
virus
may prove to be responsible for a host of neurological
disorders.
Tests are currently being prepared for tissue
samples of lesions within the
brains of patients with Multiple
Sclerosis. This will be the final
round of tests before
approaching the FDA for approval of the diagnostic
tests."
Dr. Robbins' evidence includes the presence of
virus-specific
antibodies in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients
suffering from these disorders, the ability of the virus to cause
virtually identical disease in experimentally-infected animals, and
nucleotide sequence data that indicates that the virus is
pandemic and
represents a single virus species much like
measles.
A
recently published medical journal article suggests that
Cryptovirus is most
similiar to Parainfluenza Virus-5, a
rubulavirus in the paramyxovirus
family. Another rubulavirus
related to Cryptovirus and Parainfluenza
Virus-5, that has gained
national attention for its large outbreak, is the
mumps virus.
Rubulavirus infections have been associated with
encephalitis,
meningitis, orchitis, inflammation of the testicles or
ovaries,
spontaneous abortion, and deafness.
The NCF has conducted
its own preliminary research into the
potential role of Cryptovirus
and Parainfluenza Virus-5 in
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Professor Alan Cocchetto, Medical
Director for the Foundation stated, "Our
own funded research
first confirmed the lack of a vital protein, known as
Stat-1, in the
blood of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Stat-1
plays
an indispensable role in immunity.
Without this protein,
patients are unable to effectively fight viral
and bacterial
infections. Thus, the next logical question to be
answered was 'Could
a virus be causing this Stat-1 depletion?'
"Cocchetto continued,
"Parainfluenza Virus-5 is a virus that had
to be seriously considered as a
possible piece of this medical
puzzle because it directly targets and
destroys the Stat-1
protein."
Gail Kansky, President of the NCF
stated, "Once we determined
the status of Stat-1 in patient blood samples,
we knew that we
had to look for possible evidence of Parainfluenza Virus-5
infection. It was during this phase of our own research that we
actually learned of Dr. Steven Robbins' discovery of Cryptovirus
specific antibody reactivity in patients with CFS."
Dr. Robbins had
tested fifty-six serum specimens from patients
who had been diagnosed with
CFS along with eleven matching
cerebrospinal fluid samples obtained from
physicians in
Brisbane and Southeast Queensland.
Dr. Robbins had
determined that 96% of the blood samples and
91% of the spinal fluid
samples tested positively for Cryptovirus
specific antibodies in these CFS
patients.
The National CFIDS Foundation's own research began to
dovetail with that of Dr. Robbins. Scientists funded by the
Foundation performed numerous tests for Parainfluenza Virus-5
that
included antibody as well as PCR specific probes.
Antibody testing
provided some initial hints, however a PCR
specific probe picked up the
infection in a former patient
of David S. Bell, M.D. and Paul R. Cheney,
Ph.D., M.D., both
considered well known specialists in the field of Chronic
Fatigue
Syndrome. Kansky commented, "Though our funded research
continues in diagnostic testing, our findings have served to
highlight
the important work of Dr. Robbins and the role of
Cryptovirus and
Parainfluenza Virus-5 infection in CFS."
NCF scientists utilized
the NIH Genbank database to find the
nucleotide sequence for a specific
viral protein of Cryptovirus
that matched 100% to the porcine (swine) strain
of Parainfluenza
Virus-5 known as the SER strain. In 1994, scientists
at Bayer
AG in Germany first isolated the SER strain from swine with
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome.
"This
may represent a zoonotic process since zoonotic viruses
are those that can
be transmitted between animals and people"
stated Cocchetto.
Kansky commented, "Here we have what
appears to be the same viral strain of
Parainfluenza Virus-5 on
two continents and in two different populations,
swine and
humans. Given that the NCF found Parainfluenza Virus-5 in
one
CFS patient in the United States certainly raises the bar." The
Foundation is currently funding further research.
The National
Institutes of Health (NIH) has several ongoing
grants in the Parainfluenza
Virus-5 field. Currently, however,
there is only one U.S. scientist
specifically funded for research
on the SER strain of Parainfluenza Virus-5
by the NIH.
Founded in 1997, the National CFIDS Foundation has
grown to
become the largest, all-volunteer patient organization of its type
in the United States. The Foundation has no paid employees
and is
funded solely by individual donations for the primary
purpose to fund
medical research into the cause and treatment
and/or cure of Chronic Fatigue
Immune Dysfunction Syndrome
(CFIDS/CFS).
* "Limina
Biotechnologies, Inc. is a recently formed subsidiary
of Global Medical
Technologies, Inc. that was established for the
purpose of merging Cryptic
Afflictions LLC and Global Medical
Technologies, Inc. It is the intent
of management to spin off this
newly formed corporation once the merger is
completed so
Limina can raise capital through its own IPO," according to the
company's website, www.globalmedicaltech.com.
For more
information on these findings:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Potential animal (zoonotic) virus identified in patients with
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis and Epilepsy
NCF Press
Release (2006)- Click here for PDF version:
http://www.ncf-net.org/library/PressReleasePDF.htm
Parainfluenza Virus-5: A new paradigm and a serious host
challenge NCF Paper (2006) - Click here for the PDF
version:
http://www.ncf-net.org/library/PIV5HostChallenge-PDF.htm
A novel virus (Cryptovirus) within the rubulavirus genus and uses
therefor Patent. Dr. Steven Robbins' discovery on new virus in
CFIDS, MS, and epilepsy. Patent (2002) - PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/WO02077211.pdf
Various informational press releases from Global Medical
Technologies (2004) - PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/GlobalMedicalTech1.pdf
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/GlobalMedicalTech2.pdf
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/GlobalMedicalTech3.pdf
Porcine parainfluenza virus 2 discovery by scientists at Bayer
AG Patent (1999) -PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/US5910310.pdf
Isolation of a cytopathogenic virus from a case of porcine
reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and its
characterization as
parainfluenza virus type 2 Archives of
Virology (1998) -PDF file
format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/HeinenSER.pdf
Nucleotide sequence for Cryptovirus fusion protein identified as
a porcine rubulavirus Patent (2003) (PDF file format)
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/AJ278916.pdf
Cryptovirus fusion sequence returns 100% match for fusion
protein
for SER strain of porcine parainfluenza virus BLAST
program, National
Center for Biotechnology Information,
National Library of Medicine, National
Institutes of Health (2004)
-PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/AX586949BLAST.pdf
Nucleotide sequence for the fusion protein of porcine
parainfluenza virus strain SER National Center for
Biotechnology
Information, National Library of Medicine,
National Institutes of Health
(2003) -PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/AJ278916.pdf
Porcine parainfluenza virus strain SER sequence doesn't return
match for the Cryptovirus fusion sequence though it is a 100%
match BLAST program, National Center for Biotechnology
Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of
Health
(2004) -PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/AJ278916BLAST.pdf
Methods for diagnosis and treatment of chronic immune
diseases;
Stat-1 deficiency discovery in CFIDS (2003) Patent
PDF file
format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/US200377674.pdf
Viral mechanisms of immune evasion Immunology Today review
paper
(2000) -PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/AlcamiViralImmuneEvasion.pdf
Silencing STATs: Lessons from paramyxovirus interferon
evasion
Cytokine and Growth Factors review paper (2004)
-PDF file
format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/HorvathSTAT1.pdf
The V protein of Simian Virus 5 inhibits interferon signaling by
targeting STAT1 for proteasome-mediated degradation Journal
of Virology
(1999) (PDF file format)
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/Didcock.pdf
Interferons: cell signalling, immune modulation, antiviral
responses and virus countermeasures Journal of General
Virology
(2000) -PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/Interferons.pdf
Risk factors associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in a
cluster of pediatric cases Reviews of Infectious Diseases (1991)
-PDF
file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/BellCFSEpidemiology.pdf
Relationships and host range of human, canine, simian and
porcine
isolates of simian virus 5 (parainfluenza virus 5) Journal
of General
Virology (2004) -PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/RandallPIV5Isolates.pdf
In vitro identification and characterization of a virus isolated from
a dog with neurological dysfunction Infection and Immunity
(1981)
-PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/Baumgartner.pdf
Potential role of persistent paramyxovirus infection in Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome Interim progress report and research
proposal
(2005) -PDF file format:
http://www.ncf-net.org/pdf/NCFReportKC1.pdf
II
Corinthians
1: 4 - "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are
comforted of God." Visit Dominie's FMS/CFIDS Homepage at
www.fms-help.com for Fibromyalgia and
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers and their
families.
100 Tips for Coping with
Fibromyalgia & Insomnia
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Fatigue Story
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II Corinthians
1: 4 - "[God] Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are
comforted of God." Visit Dominie's FMS/CFIDS Homepage at www.fms-help.com for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome sufferers and their families.
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