CFS in the News

There have been several news releases out since the first week of October - that the Whittemore-Peterson Institute discovered a retroviral infection XMRV that is greater than 95% of the more than 200 ME/CFS patients tested, and they "look forward to translating this discovery into treatment options!"


Whittemore-Peterson Institute - These are the ones doing the research, and their now 31-year-old daughter has CFS. (She got it at the age of 11.)
http://www.wpinstitute.org/xmrv/index.html
and their Q&A's - http://www.wpinstitute.org/xmrv/xmrv_qa.html - There's some good / interesting information there.

CFS discovery on Good Morning America last week (video link) with Dr. Donnica Moore -
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8864348

Nature News article - http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091008/full/news.2009.983.html

It's in the Wall Street Journal too, but you have to be a subscriber to read the whole article. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125501227713473525.html

It was also in today's (10/25/09) Arkansas Democrat Gazette - http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2009/oct/25/lifelong-health-chronic-fatigues-virus-li-20091025/ - but you have to be a subscriber to read the whole article. I haven't read it yet, but my mom's going to save the article for us.

CFS is featured on the National Institutes of Health home page at http://www.nih.gov/. Look for the "In the News" box on the right and a link to the XMRV press release.

Here's a link to "Xplained," an article by the CFIDS Association Scientific Director about the XMRV study published on Oct. 8 in the journal Science. - http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2009/110402.asp

CNN reports on CFS as one of the health problems doctors still miss. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/19/undiagnosed.women.problem/index.html

XMRV has generated international news coverage. The ME Association (ME is the UK version of CFS) has published this statement on its website and is also collaborating with researchers to validate the study findings. http://www.meassociation.org.uk/content/view/1042/161/

This CFIDS Association Chronicle article was published in early 2009. In "The Viruses We Live With," Association scientific director Dr. Suzanne Vernon describes how viruses like Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) can commandeer cells and systems in our bodies to ensu...re their survival. Written before the XMRV discovery, it may be helpful background for those interested in how viruses work. (http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2009/110405.pdf)

Dr. David Bell's Perspective on XMRV -
Note: Dr. David Bell is a pediatrician in upstate New York who first identified an unusual outbreak of illness in his community in 1984-1985. He has been involved in patient care and research on CFS...

New York Times article - Is a Virus the Cause of Fatigue Syndrome?
New York Times Q&A with Dr. Nancy Klimas - Readers Ask: A Virus Linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Here's the CFIDS Association's take on it.

Coincidentally, the CFIDS Association kicked off a new PR campaign recently called Solve CFS - a campaign to raise $1 million for CFS research by 12/21/09.

And another good thing to come out of this so far, is that it proves that CFS is a real illness, and not psychological.