K.S.H.V., the virus that causes AIDS

[Robert Means]

James Scutero (jscutero at panix.com) wrote:
: MattyMcD writes:
: >James M. Scutero, proponent of misc.health.aids, wrote many interesting
: >comments regarding the Kaposi Sarcoma herpes-like virus recently
: >identified. Please cite your research conclusively backing up these
: >comments. Thank you.
: >
: >>>[Because it is the cause of immune system breakdown-not HIV.]
: Herpes viruses are cytotoxic lymphotropic viruses that kill more different
: types of immune system cells DIRECTLY than HIV. In fact, HIV is not now
: considered to cause AIDS by directly killing cells, researchers are blaming
: the hyperactivity of the immune system for the damage that we see in AIDS.
: (Ho-Wei papers in Nature recently.) Unfortunately, when I interviewed HO on
: the day of the press announcement of his labs findings, he said that he did
: not look at the viral load level of ANY other virus. 

In Chang and Moore's paper they generally did not find KSHV outside of 
the KS lesions. How do you explain immune system breakdown by this virus 
if it is so localized?

: >>>[Then HIV does not cause KS.]
: HIV does not cause KS. If people are developing KS without HIV, then how
: can HIV cause KS? If people are developing KS with intact immune systems,
: how does immune suppression cause KS? Ans: It doesn't.

I think that many researchers have always thought that some other 
component besides HIV was responsible for KS. Just as PCP is an 
opportunistic infection of HIV infected people, so is KS. Also, above you 
stated that this virus, KSHV, was responsible for immune system 
breakdown, so if this were true, how are people able to have KS lesions 
without immune system breakdown? Your arguments are not consistent. 

: >>>On transmission modes-[Casually and through the saliva.]
: Researchers Chang and Moore, the discoverers of K.S.H.V. stated that it
: shares a homology with epstein - barr virus. Epstein - Barr is considered
: to be the cause of infectious mononucleosis (the kissing disease) because
: it is found in saliva. HHV-6A is also found in the saliva.

Possible, but one could argue that if this was true there would be a much 
higher incidence of KS. Just because two viruses share homology, they 
don't also have to have identical transmission modes. The KSHV, so far, 
seems to be more related to herpesvirus saimiri, a Rhadinovirus, rather 
than EBV, a Lymphocryptovirus. This distinction, although small may 
cause the KSHV to replicate in different cells than EBV and importantly, 
may cause the mode of transmission to be different from EBV.

 : -James M. Scutero, proponent of misc.health.aids.

Robert Means, proponent of experimentation and research rather than hand 
waving