>FYI - I don't want to alarm anyone but I think there is some merit to this
>herpes virus connection. I have the herpes zoster (shingles) virus in my
>spine and that is one possible cause for my TM. I had continuous shingle
>outbreaks prior to my attack of TM on 1/31/97. Doctors immediately gave me
>intravenous acyclovir (my shingles were active when I went into the
hospital
>for TM) and then 800 mg of zovirax 4 x daily. I have to take zovirax for
>life, but it was decreased to 3x a day. I've been walking pretty well and
>even started walking without my cane. However, last Wednesday I worked
some
>long, stressful hours and my legs started to tighten, cramp, and I had
>difficulty standing. Walking became difficult. My legs started getting
>"spastic" again. (What I call spastic is when they kick out like the toy
>tin soldiers walk.) My body seemed to be getting "hard" from the waist
>down. This week I did more overtime - more stress - very much
aggravation -
>and my legs were worse. Tuesday night when I went home, I found the first
>eruption of the shingles sore. I increased the dose of zovirax and that
>seems to be holding it at bay. My point is -- I've had stress on this job
>before that did not alter my walking or cause any of the above symptoms.
My
>stress level this time was so bad it let the virus loose (that's how it
>works in my body) and I believe the presence of that virus in its active
>state has interferred with my walking and feelings. All I can do now is
sit
>and wait and hope that this little eruption did not travel up my spine and
>mess with the myelin again. I'm going to see my doctor tomorrow and
discuss
>the issue. I think I made one mistake -- I did not have eruptions for over
a
>year so started taking my pills 2x a day - morning and evening. I think
>that if I had continued with them 3x a day, this outbreak would not have
>occurred. This is very scarry and if anyone has any shingles, I would
>advise taking the medicine to suppress the virus. The upside is - if I do
>get paralyzed again, I still have my sleek, battery operated wheelchair!!!
>:) At least I will be able to get a seat again on the bus!
>Nora in Chicago
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: RCookHook(AT)aol.com [SMTP:RCookHook(AT)aol.com]
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 1998 8:52 AM
>> To: tmic-list(AT)eskimo.com
>> Subject: "tmx" virus found ?
>>
>> Phil:
>>
>> Is this your infamous TMX virus that has now been found and exposed?
>>
>> Bob from Houston
>>
>> Virus linked to multiple sclerosis
>>
>> Common herpes virus may hasten disease's course
>>
>> By Charlene Laino
>> MSNBC
>>
>> A new study adds to mounting evidence that viruses can trigger the
chronic
>> muscle weakness and neurologic impairment of multiple sclerosis. The
>> study,
>> which appears in the December issue of the journal Nature Medicine, found
>> that
>> a strain of the common herpes virus may be associated with the
unforgiving
>> disorder in which the body attacks its own tissues.
>>
>>
>> 'We've suspected a possible role for a virus in MS for quite some time,
>> and
>> these results certainly point to this particular virus.'
>> - STEVEN JACOBSON
>> National Institute
>> of Neurological Disorders
>> and Stroke THE STUDY, the first to suggest a link between herpes
>> and
>> MS, points to the potential role of anti-herpes drugs in treating the
>> often
>> untreatable disorder, experts said.
>> "We expect that currently available anti-viral treatments - for
>> example, acyclovir - might one day be applied successfully to MS," said
>> Steven
>> Jacobson, chief of viral immunology at the scientists at the National
>> Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Md., and the
>> study's principal investigator. "We've suspected a possible role for a
>> virus
>> in MS for quite some time, and these results certainly point to this
>> particular virus."
>> In the study, more than one-third of MS patients had detectable
>> levels
>> of active human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6) in their blood, Jacobson reported.
>> As many as 350,000 Americans are affected by MS, which most often
>> strikes between the ages of 20 and 40 and is characterized by muscle
>> weakness,
>> visual disturbances and, eventually, disability and paralysis.
>> MS is characterized by the inflammation and eventual destruction
of
>> myelin tissue, the protective covering of the nerve cells in the brain
and
>> spinal cord. HHV-6 appears to speed up the breakdown of the protective
>> myelin
>> covering, Jacobson said, causing symptoms to worsen.
>> The next step, he said, is to figure out why infection with such a
>> common virus causes disease in so few people.
>> A different strain of the virus that causes genital herpes, HHV-6
>> causes the common childhood illness roseola. It is not sexually
>> transmitted.
>> HHV-6 is present in 90 percent of the adult American population as
>> a
>> result of infection during the first few years of life, Jacobson noted.
In
>> MS,
>> the virus, which has been dormant for years, is somehow reactivated, he
>> said.
>> In the new study, the investigators detected HHV-6 DNA - a marker
>> of
>> active virus infection - in the blood of 15 of 50 MS patients. All 47
>> healthy
>> volunteers MS tested negative for the presence of active HHV-6 viral
>> infection.
>> Additional testing for the presence of HHV-6 virus in larger
>> numbers of
>> MS patients as well as those with other autoimmune disorders is under way
>> DOES THIS MEAN US TM'ERS?
>>
>
>