A former longtime deputy to AIDS researcher [Dr. Robert Charles Gallo (born 1937)] has been charged with stealing $25,000 that a German pharmaceutical firm paid the U.S. government for biological research in the Gallo laboratory.

The former deputy, Dr. Prem Sarin, 57, was charged by a federal grand jury here last week with embezzlement and three other violations of federal law, including two felony charges of making false statements on financial disclosure forms.

Sarin is the second scientist from the Gallo lab to have been charged with criminal offenses by the U.S. attorney`s office here. Last year, Syed Salahuddin, another longtime Gallo aide, pleaded guilty to accepting illegal gratuities from a Maryland company that supplied the Gallo lab with services and materials.

Ties between that company, Pan-Data Systems, and another Gallo assistant, [Dharam Vir Ablashi (born 1931)], are being investigated by Richard Kusserow, inspector-general of the Department of Health and Human Services, according to sources familiar with that investigation.

Kusserow`s investigators are also conducting an inquiry into possible perjury and false statements by [Dr. Robert Charles Gallo (born 1937)] himself in connection with his prize-winning AIDS research at the National Cancer Institute in suburban Bethesda, Md., just outside Washington.

The cancer institute is part of the National Institutes of Health, which is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kusserow, who previously headed the white-collar fraud unit in the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has oversight responsibility at HHS.

According to federal court files in the Sarin case, Sarin had tentatively agreed to plead guilty earlier this month to two lesser offenses. When that deal fell through, federal prosecutors asked the grand jury to charge the scientist with four violations of law, including embezzlement.

The offenses to which Sarin had agreed to plead guilty carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $350,000 fine. The maximum for the four offenses with which he is now charged is 21 years in prison and a fine of $850,000.

Asked why his client had chosen to stand trial, Sarin`s attorney, W. Neil Eggleston, said only, ''He`s innocent.'' Eggleston declined to confirm reports that Sarin had repaid the $25,000 that is the focus of the alleged embezzlement.

Other sources close to the case suggested that Sarin had withdrawn from the deal because of prosecutors` insistence that any plea bargain include some jail time.

The Patient Advocate has known about the ImmuKnow test from Viracor for several years. Here are some quotes from the ViraCor site:

“ImmuKnow is a noninvasive biomarker of immune function that assesses cellular immune status by detecting cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in adult immunosuppressed patients. It measures the concentration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) released from CD4 cells following cell stimulation.”

“ImmuKnow is the first and only FDA-cleared blood test to measure the vitality of a patient's immune system.”

This means that the test is regulated and that it does as advertised. The ImmuKnow test takes a small sample of blood and exposes it to a proprietary reagent (made by Cylex) that stimulates the CD4 cells. ATP activity is measured in these CD4 cells. ViraCor has created a scale (<225 – weak immune response, 225-525 – moderate immune response and >525 – strong immune response) and this test is a measurement of immune function. The ImmuKnow test is used for tracking immune function in AIDS management and in transplant patients who take immunosuppressant drugs. It is being tested in diabetic patients undergoing Islet Cell transplant. At a CFS conference, Dr. Dharam Ablashi (see picture above) suggested using it for CFS. The PA is unaware of anyone with CFS actively doing it - except for his daughter. A number of CFS patients were given this test and their average number was 281. Further information on the ImmuKnow test is available at the ViraCor website. The ImmuKnow test is a quick and easy blood test that can be done through various labs, including Focus Diagnostics.

Ablashi’s study of 2005, using Dr. Daniel Peterson’s patient population, tested the functionality of the global T-cell response using an FDA cleared response for cell-mediated immunity assessment (Cylex Immune Function Assay, ImmuKnow) - and these cellular responses were compared to patients with HIV and immunosuppressed transplant patients. The ImmuKnow test was assessed based on the amount of ATP expressed in ng/ml. All three groups has median immune function that was not statistically different. The transplant patients averaged 259 ng/ml ATP, followed by HIV patients at 263 and CFS patients at 281. CFS patients showed consistency with both the transplant and HIV patients - with the majority of patients in the median zone, followed by patients in the low zone, with the smallest percentage in the strong zone. More can be read in Ablashi’s and Krueger’s book Human Herpesvirus-6.

Dr. Dale Guyer uses this test in his practice and has a positive feeling about it, believing that the numbers rise as the immune system becomes stronger. This Patient Advocate is not aware of other CFS doctors using this test. It is an easy blood test and relatively cheap and fast - $180. Whether it is useful or not, is anyone's guess.