Fw: TV Transcript Mycoplasma/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 2/15/2000

[Guest guest]

TV Transcript Mycoplasma/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 2/15/2000

>

> Mycoplasma Registry for gulf war illness & chronic fatigue syndrome

> & Leslee Dudley

> 303 47th Street, J-10

> San Diego, CA 92102-5961

> tel: 619-266-1116 fax: 619-266-1116 or 917-463-4271 e-mail:

> mycoreg@...

>

> Story on Mycoplasma/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

> by reporter Lori Matsukawa,

> aired on nightly news February 15, 2000,

> on TV station MSNBS, King 5 NEWS, Seattle, Washington.

>

> The online transcript can be found at

>

> http://msnbc.com/local/KING/537710.asp

>

>

> CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

>

> SEATTLE, February 15 - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is tough to diagnose and

> many times, physicians tell their patents what they have is

> psychological. Now it seems, long-term use of antibiotics appears to be

> curing some people's symptoms, but the therapy is still being resisted by

> many doctors.

>

> Ken Lassesen couldn't walk down this path without collapsing in sheer

> exhaustion.

>

> WHEN KEN LASSESEN of Kingston first came down with Chronic Fatigue

> Syndrome, he couldn't walk down his path without collapsing in sheer

> exhaustion. The software engineer said the disease robbed his body and

> brain of oxygen.

> " The one of the things that I discovered was I was unable to read

> more than two or three paragraphs of the newspaper. By that time I

> couldn't remember what the first paragraph was, " said Lassesen.

> and Leslee Dudley of San Diego also were diagnosed with Chronic

> Fatigue Syndrome.

> " I also wasn't able to go up the stairs, I had to stop in the middle

> of the stairs and recoup for 10 or 15 minutes, " said Dudley.

> " Memory loss, confusion, I couldn't read, I felt like I was getting

> Alzheimer's Disease, I'd find the mail in the refrigerator. It was a

> frightening experience, " added Leslee Dudley.

> It's estimated that millions of Americans have Chronic Fatigue

> Syndrome and similar illnesses like Gulf War Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.

>

>

> Mycoplasma cannot be detected through standard blood tests.

> For a decade, many patients were told there was no cure, that the

> diseases were psychological or caused by chemical exposure.

> But a Southern California researcher said the diseases appear to be

> caused by very small bacteria called mycoplasma.

> This means the diseases can be treated with antibiotics. It also

> means the diseases are contagious.

> Researcher Garth Nicolson found mycoplasma cannot be detected through

> standard blood tests. He developed a special DNA test to diagnose

> patients and he recommends long-term treatment with antibiotics.

> That's where conventional medicine bristles.

> " Mycoplasma may be the culprit, but I'd like to see some proof, " said

> Dr. B. Brown, rheumatologist. " Until we have that, I'm concerned

> about patients just taking antibiotics long-term for Chronic Fatigue

> Syndrome. "

> " There's a concern that some of these organisms might become

> resistant to antibiotics or that the antibiotics themselves might cause

> some additional problems with long-term therapy. We just have not seen

> that and other physicians who have used long-term antibiotic therapy have

> not see that, " said Prof. Garth Nicolson, Institute of Molecular

> Medicine.

> Ken Lassesen takes Doxycycline, which is commonly prescribed for

> acne, and Bromelain, a supplement that boosts the antibiotic. He said he

> had some initial adverse reaction, but has no qualms about taking

> antibiotics for a year.

> " If I actually had TB, they wouldn't hesitate to give me three years

> of it, " he said.

> " We hope that the CDC will soon reclassify mycoplasma as a contagious

> reportable disease and clean up this epidemic, " said Leslee Dudley.

> Mycoplasma trials are just getting underway at some VA hospitals. For

> now, most physicians hesitate to prescribe long-term antibiotic treatment

> until they're sure bacteria are the culprits.

>

> Mycoplasma Registry

> 303 N. 47th St., J-10

> San Diego, CA 92102-5961

> Tel: 619-266-1116

> E-mail: mycoreg@...

>

>

>