Immunization Provokes XMRV Activation in Monkeys

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.:

A new study from scientists at Emory University, the Cleveland Clinic, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Abbott Diagnositics and featuring such medical luminaries as Drs. Eric Klein and Robert Silverman is providing information on the path of XMRV infection in primates, and surprisingly the possible triggers for activation of the retrovirus. The work was recently published in the Journal of Virology.

I have a long-standing interest in XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia-related virus) as my daughter with autism/seizures and my wife have both tested positive for the retrovirus. I have tested negative. While most of the recent commentary on XMRV has focused on its possible connection to chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, children with autism share many common clinical symptoms with the CFS/ME population, including immune disregulation, increased oxidative stress, expression of proinflammatory cytokines, low natural killer cell functionality, and active microbial infections.

A poster presentation entitled "Detection of Infectious XMRV in Peripheral Blood of Children" was made at the 1st International Workshop on XMRV in September of 2010 at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

In a small sample it was found that 14 of 17 children (82%) of the children were positive for XMRV infection.

I was also intrigued to see that in the new book, The Myth of Autism by Dr. Michael Goldberg he marshalls abundant evidence of the commonalities between these two conditions, as well as receiving critical praise for his work from Dr. Nancy Klimas, one of the world's best known (and apparently beloved) experts on chronic fatigue syndrome/ME.

From the abstract of the study entitled, Infection, Viral Dissemination and antibody Response of Rhesus Macaques Exposed to the Human Gammaretrovirus XMRV, the authors explained, ... Read more>>