More on XMRV and CFS in May 14 issue of Science

The May 14, 2010 issue of Science includes five articles that relate to the October 8, 2009 report of an association between CFS and XMRV, a human retrovirus, by Lombardi, et al. Three groups of authors submitted comments within three weeks of the date of Lombardi et al’s initial report. Two (Mikovits and Ruscetti) of the 13 authors of the initial report submitted a response to these comments on November 10, 2009, according to the dates reported by Science in the current issue. It appears that authors of the comments and the response were permitted to update their original submissions to reflect the three additional studies of XMRV in CFS that followed the Science report. (See http://www.cfids.org/xmrv/default.asp for more information about XMRV.)

Here are links to the materials in the May 14 issue of Science, the full text of which is presently available online. However, Science is a subscription-based publication and public access is occasionally restricted after a certain date.

Comments submitted in response to “Detection of an Infectious Retrovirus, XMRV, in Blood Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” published October 8, 2009 in Science Express:

• Comments by Cathie Sudlow, Malcolm Macleod, Rustam Al-Shahi Salman, Jon Stone. Received for publication October 19, 2009. Accepted for publication April 18, 2010. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5980/825-a


• Comments by Andrew Lloyd, Peter White, Simon Wessely, Michael Sharpe, Dedra Buchwald. Received for publication October 22, 2009. Accepted for publication April 18, 2010. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5980/825-b


• Comments by Jos W. M. van der Meer, Mihai G. Netea, Jochem M. D. Galama, Frank J. M. van Kuppeveld. Received for publication October 26, 2009. Accepted for publication April 18, 2010. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5980/825-c

Response to Comments on “Detection of an Infectious Retrovirus, XMRV, in Blood Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” Judy A. Mikovits and Francis W. Ruscetti. Received for publication November 10, 2009. Accepted for publication April 19, 2010. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5980/825-d#R1

Supporting Online Material: Judy A. Mikovits and Francis W. Ruscetti. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5980/825-d/DC1

Citations: Science 14 May 2010: Vol. 328. no. 5980, p. 825 DOI: 10.1126/science.1184548

V. C. Lombardi et al., Detection of an infectious retrovirus, XMRV, in blood cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Science 326, 585 (2009).

Posted May 13, 2010