XMRV

What Does The FDA/NIH/Harvard Paper Mean?

by Johan August 24, 2010

Yesterday evening the long awaited and heavily anticipated study by a team the from National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Harvard University “Detection of MLV-related virus gene sequences in blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy blood donors” finally appeared on the website of PNAS – Proceedings [...]

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On XMRV, HGRV, XAND, and HGRAD

by Johan August 20, 2010

Yesterday ProHealth published the news about a possible name change for XMRV, the retrovirus linked to ME/CFS and prostate cancer. The new name would be Human Gamma Retro Virus (HGRV) and the associated illness Human Gamma Retrovirus Associated Disease (HGRAD). I do not rule out this is just a teaser to see how the patients respond before the name change is officially announced. Well, glad to be of service; this is my response.

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A Rose By Any Other Name Would Still Smell As Sweet

by Johan August 8, 2010

Recently the whole name change issue for ME/CFS came up again, which it does periodically. This is my view on the subject, presented as some loosely connected ramblings. I really don’t want to spend time, money or energy on this subject; that is no more than for writing this article.

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XMRV And Aging Men, Waiting Room Observations, And Spin Doctors

by Johan March 5, 2010

I normally limit my articles to one topic, but this article contains 3 short stories that otherwise wouldn’t have made it to my blog: “Spin Doctors”, “Waiting Room Observations”, and “XMRV and Aging Men”.

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To Get Tested For XMRV Or Not. That’s The Question.

by Johan March 2, 2010

In one of my previous post I described my first visit to the Himmunitas Foundation and Prof. Dr. De Meirleir. I have the impression that for the first time I am going to get thoroughly tested, but it left me with one question, “Should I take the expensive XMRV test or not?” People replied with comments on my blog, in forums, in emails, and with a blog post. I have made a decision.

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First Visit to Himmunitas and Prof. Dr. De Meirleir

by Johan February 7, 2010

Almost exactly 8 years after my diagnosis with CFS in an official clinic, the CFS Reference Center in Gent, with an exclusive psychosocial approach to ME/CFS, I visited a biomedical clinic: the Himmunitas Foundation.

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Response to “Fighting Fatigue” on MindHacks.com

by Johan January 20, 2010

This article is a response to the article “Fighting Fatigue”, published on January 6, 2010, by Vaughn on MindHacks.com. I have seen it described on Twitter as well-balanced, thoughtful approach, first-base, …, but I don’t agree; I find it biased.

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How Many Of The ME/CFS Patients Are Infected With XMRV?

by Johan November 15, 2009

The article, “Detection of an Infectious Retrovirus, XMRV, in Blood Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”, published in Science Express on October 8, 2009 send a shockwave through the ME/CFS-community. But how many of the ME/CFS patient samples tested positive for the XMRV retrovirus? Was it 67%, 95%, 98%, or 100%?

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