Many patients have written and asked WPI for further information about the recent study titled, Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in the Duodenum of Individuals Diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Are Uniquely Immunoreactive to Antibodies to Human Endogenous Retroviral Proteins, published online in the journal In Vivo. We asked Dr. Vincent Lombardi, Research Director of WPI, to give us his answers to the following questions.
Are you looking at other patient cohorts or diseases for
this finding?
We would like to study MS and/or lupus subjects. We are
seeking a collaborator with the proper specimens.
Is this something my gastroenterologist could test for?
At this moment, it would be premature for a person to ask
their gastroenterologist to look for this. Perhaps it might be justified down the road when we have a
better understanding of the significance.
Are you planning on publishing more papers on pDCs?
Currently, pDCs are a primary focus of our research. We are
in the process of writing a paper on pDCs and conducting experiments that will likely result in other
publications.
Are you doing any studies on fibromyalgia?
At the moment, we don't have a study protocol for
fibromyalgia.
What other studies are you working on? Preliminary studies
are very helpful to the research process; how can I find out more and be a part of them?
We are studying the pathogenesis of ME and Gulf War illness.
Each of these studies is multifaceted. To become involved in these studies, an individual would need
to first contact our study coordinator, Kellen Jones, at 775-682-8250 or kjones@wpinsititute.org
