Episode 54: Dr Bhupesh Prusty – Molecular Virologist

Dr Bhupesh Prusty, a molecular virologist from the University of Würzburg, Germany, focuses much of his work on the human herpes virus and its role of reactivation in diseases such as ME/CFS.  With a similar signature of mitochondrial dysfunction, it is his belief that Long Covid may have a similar pathogenesis.

He believes that he has found ‘the switch’.

Whilst searching for elevated markers in the bloods of patients with Long Covid and ME/CFS, Dr Prusty found the opposite – he believes that it is what is missing from the blood of these patients that may hold the key to treating the diseases.

And provide an actual biomarker!

In an introduction to his theories, this episode discusses viral reactivation, viral persistence and takes all of the symptoms and strands of Long Covid and puts forward a model that might explain all of it in one cohesive mechanism.

He, very modestly, thinks he may have found the mouth of the river, from which all the downstream manifestations that we suffer have sprung.

Dr Prusty hopes to publish his findings in the next month, and will present his model at the 12th Invest in ME Research Biomedical Research for ME Colloquium #BRMEC12 and 15th International ME Conference #IIMEC15 2nd June. Patients are welcome to attend.

The bad news is that although it may be possible to flip the switch back, the longer we have been been on this journey the harder it is to reverse the down stream effects. Not impossible, just harder.