Dr Avindra Nath, NIH USA, views on ME/CFS and Long Covid

[Nightsong]

According to the article, Nath is still in favour of the hypothesis that a persistent antigen, and "immune exhaustion", is at the root of LC & ME/CFS. His work on the HERVs sounds very interesting, though.

 

[Hutan]

According to the article, Nath is still in favour of the hypothesis that a persistent antigen, and "immune exhaustion", is at the root of LC & ME/CFS. His work on the HERVs sounds very interesting, though.

Thanks Nightsong. As there is a paywall, could you or someone else with access give us a few excerpts on the HERV work?

 

[SNT Gatchaman]

From the Lancet Neurology piece —

He applied the same principles to his research on post-acute infection syndromes, like chronic fatigue syndrome and long-COVID—also likely attributable to viral persistence. “We were studying [chronic fatigue syndrome] when the COVID pandemic came around”, Nath notes, recalling common themes of persistent immune dysregulation and exhaustion. “To us that was a very, very important and intriguing observation because, if there is immune exhaustion, they’re likely seeing some kind of antigen that they cannot get rid of.” He explains how “we see that with HIV, with [chronic fatigue syndrome], and now with long-COVID”, supporting the hypothesis that persistent antigens or defective viruses drive immune exhaustion.

Nath’s group also made the groundbreaking discovery that an endogenous retrovirus, human endogenous retrovirus type K (HERV-K, subtype HML-2), which was incorporated into the human genome several hundred thousand years ago, is activated in some patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The group is now looking into the mechanisms of its regulation in the brain during different disease states. Several companies are developing monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, or antiretrovirals to target HERV-K in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Nath’s group and collaborators are conducting clinical trials assessing the safety and efficacy of antiretrovirals in patients.

Nath’s work has often challenged the scientific orthodoxy. “You’re going to get a lot of disbelievers if you say something that is innovative and novel”, he says, lamenting that many people give up quickly in the face of such opposition. “If you really believe in your observations, you’ve got to be able to be absolutely persistent”, he says, “and then eventually you will get others to start thinking and believing in your hypotheses and your observations”. While initially driven by scientific curiosity, Nath now describes the scepticism he often faces as invigorating. “If people start believing everything I say, then I think there’s something wrong”, he laughs. “It’s become part of my personality. It wasn’t that way, but I’ve become that way. I love a challenge.”