A goal of CCID is to establish a national center for the research and treatment of stealth viruses. The basic premise is that many mental illnesses are the symptomatic manifestations of a non-inflammatory stealth virus infection of the brain. Stealth viruses can capture, amplify, and mutate critical cellular genes, leading to a disruption in normal cell function. The effects are especially apparent in the brain.

Methods have been developed to culture stealth viruses. These studies have identified a virus inhibitory activity in the material released from infected cells. It is necessary to purify and characterize this material and to produce sufficient quantities for experimental testing both in tissue culture and in infected animals.

In the interim, it is important to test various patient and control groups of individuals, to determine the prevalence of stealth virus infections. The therapeutic response of infected patients to currently available anti-viral agents, such as ganciclovir, also needs to be evaluated in a clinical research setting.