Managing Orthostatic Intolerance
Speaker: Peter Rowe, M.D.
Date: Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Recording of presentation:

Dr. Peter Rowe was the first person to establish a substantial overlap between OI and CFS (although not everyone with OI suffers from CFS, and not everyone with CFS experiences OI). Dr. Rowe shared with us an informative presentation that details the various forms of OI, explores the condition’s relationship to CFS and offers tips and tricks to manage Orthostatic Intolerance.

The Nuts and Bolts of Disability Insurance
Speaker: Charles McB. (“Mac”) Sasser
Date: Thursday, August 19, 2010

Recording of presentation:
http://www.youtube.com/solvecfs

Charles McB. (“Mac”) Sasser, JD, opened his tool chest to share the nuts and bolts of disability insurance. He covered the different types of insurance, including employer-provided disability insurance (governed by ERISA), private insurance for disability and Social Security disability insurance; review the SSA’s CFS ruling; and describe how to navigate the process of obtaining coverage.

XMRV & Blood Safety
Speaker: Louis M. Katz, MD
Date: August 16, 2010

Recording of the presentation: http://www.youtube.com/solvecfs#p/a/u/0/ex6iS_2RqiY
Slides of the presentation: http://www.cfids.org/webinar/081610-slides.pdf

In this webinar, Louis M. Katz, MD, a specialist in infectious diseases and a prominent figure in national blood banking organizations, provided background about blood safety issues related to xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) – a retrovirus that has been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Public health officials are investigating the potential threat to the nation’s blood supply posed by XMRV due to the possibility that it might be transmitted through transfusions, as are other retroviruses such as HIV and HTLV. Dr. Katz reviewed current XMRV research initiatives and will discuss investigations of the retrovirus by those working in transfusion medicine.

Louis M. Katz, MD has served as President of the Board of Directors of America’s Blood Centers, the national organization of independent, community-based blood centers that supply half of the blood components transfused in the United States. He received his medical degree from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases. Dr. Katz is a member and chair of the Transfusion Transmitted Diseases Committee and is a member and past chairman of the FDA Blood Products Advisory Committee.

XMRV Update
Speakers: Vincent Racaniello, PhD and Lucinda Bateman, MD
Date: July 15, 2010

Recording of the presentation:
http://www.youtube.com/solvecfs#p/a/u/0/qBfLqeGuzuo
Slides of the presentation:
http://www.cfids.org/webinar/071510-slides.pdf

During this program you heard from two experts about the latest research into the association between XMRV, a newly discovered human retrovirus, and CFS.

Vincent Racaniello, PhD, a virology professor at Columbia University and host of the popular "This Week in Virology" podcast and Virology Blog, updated us on what is known about XMRV, its association with human disease (including CFS) and how research should move forward to understand its role in CFS.

Lucinda Bateman, MD, an expert CFS physician, provided an update on the latest studies of XMRV and CFS, as well as research under way. Dr. Bateman is a clinical collaborator on a study at University of Utah led by Dr. Ila Signh, one of the co-discoverers of XMRV.