BY IAN CLEARY, DEC 09
There has been a lot of interest of late about a recent finding from the US about links between the retrovirus known as XMRV and CFS/ME.
In summary the study found 67% of ME patients (101 people) carried evidence of this virus, compared to 4% in the normal population. Read more about study here…
But experts outside the study were very quick to caution that the study did not prove a causal link between XMRV and CFS/ME.
TRIGGERS FOR ME/CFS?
Most experts in the field agree that ME/CFS can be triggered by a large number of causal factors. It is seen to have a hetrogenisy of causal factors leading to a common pathway. (To translate that medic speak it just means that it can start in many different ways but seem to lead to a similar end result ie ME/CFS)
I see people whose original trigger was viral, bacterial, immunizations, an operation, physical injuries, extreme jet lag, emotional trauma, exposure to chemicals, over seas travel. It is how the body has responded to these stressors that is the problem. These often lingering stressors seem to burden the system to a point where it seems to get stuck in fight mode, leading to a dysfunction in the Autonomic Nervous System. Often the original trigger is no longer there, but the body acts as if it is. One of the things the Lightning Process does therefore is to ‘re-programme’ the body to act appropriately. As the brain is ‘plastic’ and able to physically change and adapt to new experience, you can interrupt the automated and unwanted behaviour and thoughts, and increase functioning of the system.
A REVIEW OF THE FINDINGS
Some interesting things to note about this study is firstly the results don’t say the XMRV virus causes ME/CFS. It is suggesting that there could be a link.
Logically if the virus did cause this neurological disease then 100% of people with ME/CFS would have traces of XMRV (and the study showed they don’t) and the 4 % of the healthy population that have it, should be sick (and they are not). So it is not a clear link at all. Hence the caution expressed by the medical field.
It has been known for a long time that any virus can be a trigger for CFS/ME so the XMRV is a likely candidate to put the required stress on the body to bring on CFS/ME. I often see people who can pin point their condition to a case of Glandular Fever, Ross River Fever, Barmah Forest Virus etc. But instead of recovering quickly the symptoms persist or re-occur.
We would say that ANY prolonged stressor under the right conditions could develop into ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It is not the virus that is ME/CFS but the bodies inappropriate response to the stressor.
ME/CFS appears to be linked to the sustained arousal of the bodies sympathetic nervous system response to something. It is common referred to as being stuck in ‘flight or fight’, but this is an over-simplification. The flight or fight response is a brilliant short term response but under prolonged conditions, particularly with the associated inappropriate levels of adrenaline and cortisol, has destructive results on many of the bodies systems.
Another possibility that requires further study is whether in fact the XMRV was indeed the trigger. While under sustained nervous response, it is commonly known that the immune system is compromised. Often people suffering from ME/CFS are highly susceptible to things that the general population are able to tolerate. So it is also possible that the conditions of ME/CFS make someone more likely to be infected with the XMRV. This may show up in tests but is not to be confused with the original trigger.
All of this is interesting but also slightly irrelevant to recovery using the Lightning Process. Regardless of the original cause, people I see, (whether they have XMRV or not), successfully recover quickly using the Lightning Process. So in some ways it’s a red herring for recovery. Asking ‘why’ I got sick is all well and good but a more useful question is ‘how can I get better?’.
Ian Cleary
POST SCRIPT
Since writing this piece further trials in the UK and Europe failed to find the XMRV in CFS patients there. This further complicates the debate. Read the New Scientist article here.