XMRV Retrovirus - Significant Lyme co-infection? (jdp, CS)

A fascinating and potentially very important study has recently come out in the journal Science. The study reports on the discovery that 68% of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) carry the XMRV virus as compared to 3.7% of those without CFS. Further work reported in the New York Times indicates that the virus has been found in 98% of patients with CFS. The discovery of this retrovirus, if confirmed by other research groups, suggests that this virus is either the cause or an important secondary factor in CFS. This finding has implications for Lyme research as it is possible that patients who carry this virus when co-infected with Lyme go on to have persistent symptoms because: a) of activation of the latent virus; b) infection with Lyme or another tick-borne disease lowers the immune surveillance making the individual more susceptible to "catch" the virus; or c) the presence of the virus and the spirochete together act synergistically to induce an array of illness symptoms or to prevent eradication or control of either organism. In any case, given that the symptoms of CFS are so similar to the symptoms of patients with chronic persistent Lyme symptoms, especially shared problems with fatigue and cognition, research in this area may shed important light on the mechanisms underlying the perpetuation of chronic symptoms. In terms of treatment, if this virus is thought to be causal, then retroviral treatments that are used for treating HIV may be very helpful for patients with chronic persistent symptoms.'

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Protection of Mice from Lyme Borreliosis by Oral Vaccination with Escherichia coli Expressing OspA

Erol Fikrig,
Stephen W. Barthold,
Fred S. Kantor and
Richard A. Flavell

+ Author Affiliations

Sections of Immunobiology and Comparative Medicine, Department of Medicine (Divisions of Infectious Diseases and of Allergy and Clinical Immunology), and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut

Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Erol Fikrig. Section of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 429 FMB. 310 Cedar St., New Haven. CT 06510.

Abstract

Mice immunized with recombinant outer surface protein A (OspA) in Freund's adjuvant or with intraperitoneal injections of live Escherichia coli expressing OspA have been shown to be protected from infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. To investigate the efficacy oforal vaccination, C3H/He mice were inoculated with 108 live E. coli expressing recombinant OspA by gavage and boosted in a similar manner on days 10, 20, 30, and 40. The animals developed serum IgG antibodies to OspA by immunoblot and were protected from infection when challenged with 104 B. burgdorferi intradermally 14 days after the last boost. Control mice did not develop antibodies to OspA and were not protected against challenge infection. These results suggest that an oral preparation of recombinant OspA could potentially be used for vaccination.

John Stoller's routine recommended here in the order of Lyme 432, Bartonella (BLO) 832, Mycoplasma Species 690, Babesia Species 570, Anaplasma Species 387, Erlichia 395, Epstein Barr virus 880 and finally Xmrv 448