TWiV 329: Pox in the balance

March 22, 2015

Wash Your HandsHosts: Vincent RacanielloDickson DespommierAlan DoveRich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

The TWiV team reviews identification of immune biomarkers in CFS/ME patients, and how a cell nuclease controls the innate immune response to vaccinia virus infection.

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 329 (79 MB .mp3, 110 min)
Subscribe (free): iTunesRSSemail

Links for this episode

Timestamps by Jennifer. Thank you!

Weekly Science Picks 1:35:10

Alan – NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory video
Rich – Mutagenic chain reaction (Video: Genome editing with CRISPR)
Kathy – Science Ambassadors Program
Dickson – Street Art
Vincent – End Polio Now

Listener Pick of the Week

Ross – Three PhD Comics on Nature vs Science (one, two, three)
Ricardo – Demographic Party Trick

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@microbe.tv

Leave a Reply to Cort Johnson Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

11 comments on “TWiV 329: Pox in the balance

  1. Anne Marie Mar 22, 2015

    I just realized I should clarify that I made the cross stitch using a pattern by Alicia Watkins on Etsy.

  2. Milo Paradiso Mar 22, 2015

    Thank you so much for a great discussion regarding SEID/ MECFS. It felt like the conversation shifted from ‘is it real’ to ‘what’s causing it, I am curious to know?’.

    Sending my very best wishes for your son Dr Vincent with hopes that what he has is not this disease because it is sure not easy to live with this.

  3. Self-diagnosed??? The patients in the study were provided by respected experts in the field? Of course, ME/CFS is heterogeneous…but suggesting that the patients somehow thrust themselves into an Ian Lipkin study seems kind of bizarre…

    • Agreed, Cort. I was horrified when Dickson said that. As you know I corrected him later but I’m not sure he understand.

      • Yes, indeed, and thank you for doing that. I wrote my comment as he was speaking and before you corrected him. 🙂

  4. Then Dixon suggests that no cytokine studies are relevant (?). Then he suggests that there because there are wide variety of symptoms associated with this disease – it was an amorphous group. In fact, the patients in this study were required to meet the Canadian Consensus Criteria – yes, a symptomatic definition, by a quite specific one, that requires post-exertional malaise (not just fatigue) be a key factor.

  5. Yes, there is controversy but almost all research studies have used the Fukuda definition until recently when some studies, including this one, have begun using the more restrictive Canadian Consensus Criteria. Thanks for pointing out to Dixon how symptom based diseases are dealt with. You have to start somewhere with these diseases and you do so using symptoms.

  6. The ME/CFS community was upset at the way the IOM was created. Once it was clear that ME/CFS experts were going to be the panel most of the upset disappeared…..

  7. Yes, the diagnostic criteria needs more statistical analysis but most of it was built on statistically based studies. Good luck with your son, Vincent

  8. Vincent, thank you again for presenting the latest on ME/CFS. You are always a champion for this community. I was left feeling quite frustrated by some of your guests’ comments, but I am relieved to see that Cort Johnson was submitting corrections as he listened. I am sure you were frustrated (and “horrified”) by some of the misinformation stated during this podcast, and I know you did your best to clear the misconceptions, but you also had to move on as planned. I believe this situation creates a great teaching moment. Rather than adding comments here where I am uncertain your guests will see them, I drafted a couple of pages of information I’d like shared with them via you, in the hopes that they would read the information. Much of it comes straight from the ME/CFS IOM report, and as scientists I assume they would like to stay informed. I will contact you via Facebook. Thank you, and best wishes for your son. Claudia Goodell, MS