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Press Releases
Subject/Date
Potential Animal (Zoonotic) Virus Identified in Patients with CFS, MS, and
Epilepsy (May 31, 2006)
Neurotoxin
Discovered in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (November 17, 2002)
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 click
here.
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Needham, MA November 17, 2002 -- Research sponsored by the National
CFIDS Foundation was formally announced at the International Symposium on Toxins
and Natural Products in Okinawa, Japan on November 17-19, 2002 by Dr. Yoshitsugi
Hokama. The research, for the first time, discovered ciguatoxin, a potent
neurotoxin, in the blood of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients.
"Chronic ciguatera poisoning has already been suggested as a scientific model
for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)," stated Dr. Hokama. Ciguatoxins are potent,
heat stabile, non-protein, lipophilic sodium channel activator toxins and are
recognized as some of the most potent biological toxins known. They produce
dramatic neurological manifestations, such as peripheral sensory or motor
symptoms (including paresthesias, pain, burning, tingling, numbness), central
symptoms such as headache, autonomic dysfunction and also affect multiple body
systems (gastrointestinal, immune, hepatic, cardiovascular) and the muscles.
Many CFS patients in the study had higher levels of the toxin than the
patients with cancer, hepatitis or acute ciguatera poisoning.
Quantitative assay results range from 1:5, the lowest toxin level, to 1:160,
the highest toxin level. All CFS samples gave titres of at least 1:20, with the
majority of titres from 1:40 to 1:160.
Dr. Hokama presented his preliminary findings in a lecture titled "Acute
phase lipids in sera of various diseases: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ciguatera,
hepatitis, and various cancer with antigentic epitope resembling ciguatoxin as
determined with Mab-CTX."
Dr. Hokama is a Professor in the Department of Pathology at the John A. Burns
School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is a world expert in
the area of fish toxins with hundreds of peer reviewed publications to his
credit. Hokama developed the Membrane Immunobead Assay test for patient sera,
using a specific monoclonal antibody for ciguatera toxin (Mab-CTX). His current
research into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and a ciguatera toxin connection was
funded by the National CFIDS Foundation's research grant program.
Gail Kansky, President of the National CFIDS Foundation, said, "We believe
this to be a significant breakthrough. CFS, which has come to include myalgic
encephalomyelitis, is a very severe illness that has not received adequate
funding or appropriate medical attention. Although there are still many
unanswered questions and much work to be done, research efforts will ultimately
turn the tide in the understanding of this disease and allow patients to receive
appropriate medical therapies. We are indebted to Dr. Hokama and his colleagues
for providing this monumental first step."
For more information on this study or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, please
contact The National CFIDS Foundation.
Contact Information:
Gail Kansky 781-449-3535
For more information on Ciguatera Toxicology click
here.
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