New concern about IVIG

[peagreen]

Hello all,

 

I was wondering if any of you have seen this article about the discovery of a new virus which they have isolated in the blood of a large percentage of individuals with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Autism. It's a type of Rotavirus, which they're now thinking may play a role in these and other disorders, by disrupting the immune system in the same manner as HIV.

 

I'm concerned not only about the impact this virus may have on my kids, if they have it, but also on how this might impact the safety of IVIG. The blood supply is screened for any kind of virus that is known, but since this virus has only just recently been isolated, it would not be included in that screening process. It makes one wonder what other yet unknown virus could be in blood products.

 

Since we may be considering IVIG, do you think we should be concerned about this? I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

 

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/10/david-k...-infection.html

 

Paula

[kim]

peagreen,

 

I don't know anything about how IVIG is screened for contamination, sorry. Hopefully someone else might have idea's about that. I did think that the whole story was interesting tho. The clickable at the top of the article gives more info.

 

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/...h_b_316986.html

 

According to Dr. Mikovits, XMRV (which admittedly sounds like a satellite radio system for your Winnebago) can lie dormant in people, until it is "turned on or off" by other factors, such as stress hormones like cortisol, or in response to the presence of inflammatory "cytokines," protein molecules secreted by immune cells to help regulate the immune system.

 

And then Dr. Mikovits dropped a bombshell that is sure to spark controversy.

 

"On that note, if I might speculate a little bit," she said, "This might even explain why vaccines would lead to autism in some children, because these viruses live and divide and grow in lymphocytes -- the immune response cells, the B and the T cells. So when you give a vaccine, you send your B and T cells in your immune system into overdrive. That's its job. Well, if you are harboring one virus, and you replicate it a whole bunch, you've now broken the balance between the immune response and the virus. So you have had the underlying virus, and then amplified it with that vaccine, and then set off the disease, such that your immune system could no longer control other infections, and created an immune deficiency."

and

 

Apparently, the CFS findings have impressed the scientific community. "We presented these data three times: Twice at closed conferences at the NIH, and one at an international meeting a few weeks ago, and you could hear a pin drop in the audience - it's amazement" Mikovits said. "The scientists are excited, everyone is working on it, so we know we are going to get a lot of help. It's just amazement, it's an entirely new field of medicine and everyone who's ever worked in this family of viruses is, now that we've shown it's a human pathogen, is extremely excited.

 

 

 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166838.php

 

Retrovirus Linked To Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

[EAMom]

Hi Paula...

 

this link has some info...discusses virus inactivation steps?? okay, the link doesn't actually take you where you want to go...so I cut and pasted! http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/436640_7

 

Conclusion

The clinical activity and viral safety of IVIG preparations have been demonstrated by 20 years of clinical use and several large clinical studies. Nevertheless, constant vigilance is required to maintain and improve safety standards. Rigorous donor screening and plasma testing must continue to be implemented to ensure the safety of source plasma. The introduction of PCR-based, small-pool plasma tests for the detection of HCV, HIV, and HBV RNA is a significant step toward maximizing plasma safety. The safety of IVIGs has been further enhanced by the incorporation of additional, validated virus inactivation steps into the manufacturing processes, particularly pasteurization, which is a broad-range viral inactivation method. The virus validation studies summarized in this article indicate that the manufacturing processes for currently available IVIG result in significant reductions in HIV, in model viruses for HBV and HCV, and in nonlipid-enveloped viruses. These results should ease concerns regarding viral safety, particularly with the expanding use of IVIGs for both established and new indications.