FMS Patients Found to Have Infection/ Lyme? 2 of 4

[Guest guest]

http://www.radio.cbc.ca/programs/ideas/shows/bacteria/bacttext.html

THE BACTERIA REVOLUTION

Friday, May 28 & June 4, 1999

IDEAS:

Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Infections in Chronic Fatigue

> Syndrome, Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis

> -----------------------------------------------------------------

> Bron: The Fibromyalgia Society of Canada (1998)

>

> Prof. Garth L. Nicolson

> The Institute for Molecular Medicine

> 15162 Triton Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1401

>

> Patients with chronic illnesses Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME (CFS/ME),

> Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS), Gulf War Syndrome or Gulf War Illnesses

> (GWI) and some Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) usually have overlapping,

> complex, multi-organ chronic signs and symptoms . These include

chronic

> fatigue, headaches, memory loss, muscle pain, nausea, gastrointestinal

> problems, joint pain, lymph node pain, memory loss, and other signs

and

> symptoms. Often included in this complex clinical picture are

increased

> sensitivities to various environmental agents and enhanced allergic

> responses. Although these syndromes have been known for several

years,

> most patients with CFS/ME, FMS, GWI or RA have had few options when it

> comes to effective treatments. This may be due to the imprecise

nature

> of their diagnoses, which are often based on clinical observations

> rather than laboratory tests that could identify an underlying cause

for

> their illnesses.

>

> The signs and symptoms of CFS/ME and FMS overlap with those found in

> GWI, suggesting that these are not a separate syndromes, they are all

> CFS/ME-like disorders.(1) The main distinguishing characteristic of

FMS

> is severe muscle pain and soreness, and this can also be seen in many

> FMS, RA and GWI patients. In some cases, these illnesses have

> apparently spread to immediate family members. In the case of GWI,

over

> 100,000 veterans of the Persian Gulf War in 1991 have been found to

have

> this disorder, not including immediate family members. According to

> one government study, GWI has spread to family members, (2) and it is

> likely that it has also spread in the workplace. Although this U.S.

> Senate committee study was incomplete, investigators found after

> surveying approximately 1,200 GWI families that 77% of spouses and a

> majority of children born after the war had the signs and symptoms of

> GWI. (2) Notwithstanding the official position of Department of

> Defense remains that family members have not contracted GWI, this U.

S.

> Senate study indicates that at least a subset of GWI patients have a

> transmittable illness. (2) Similarly, some CFS/ME patients have

> complained that their immediate family members now show some of the

> signs and symptoms of CFS/ME.

>

> Does Stress affect CFS/ME, FMS, GWI or RA?

> ------------------------------------------

>

> Can stress affect chronic illnesses? Most researchers would agree

that

> it can, especially by affecting the immune system, but the notion that

> stress is the cause of chronic illnesses like CFS/ME, FMS, GWI and RA

> is, in my opinion, far fetched. Patients with CFS/ME, FMS, GWI and

> sometimes RA often have cognitive problems, such as short term memory

> loss, problems concentrating and other psychological problems. In

> fact, psychologists or psychiatrists who examine CFS/ME, FMS or GWI

> patients often find psychological or psychiatric problems in these

> patients and decide in the absence of contrary laboratory findings

that

> these conditions are somatoform disorders. That means that these

> practitioners decide that these illnesses are caused solely by

> psychological or psychiatric problems, not medical problems that can

be

> treated with medicines or treatments that are not specific for the

> Central Nervous System. Stress is often mentioned as an important

> factor or the important factor in these disorders. In particular, GWI

> patients are often diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

(PTSD)

> in veterans=92 and military hospitals. (4) The evidence that

physicians

> have offered as proof that stress or PTSD is the source of most GWI

> sickness is the assumption that most veterans must have suffered from

> stress by virtue of the stressful environment in which they found

> themselves during the Gulf War. (4) In fact, veterans themselves do

not

> feel that stress-related diagnoses are an accurate portrayal of their

> illnesses. Most testimony to the U. S. House of Representatives

> Committee on Government Reform and Oversight studying the origins of

GWI

> refutes the notion that stress is the major cause of GWI. (4) The

> General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigation arm of the U.S.

> Congress, after studying government and civilian data on the subject

> concluded that while stress can induce some physical illness, the

> statement that stress is the causes of GWI has not been established.

(5)

> Similarly, evidence is lacking that stress can cause CFS/ME, FMS or

RA.

>

> The main effect of stress appears to be that it can exacerbate chronic

> illnesses and suppress immune systems. But most military personnel

that

> we interviewed, including highly disciplined U. S. Special Forces and

> Navy SEALS, indicated that the Gulf War was not a particularly

stressful

> war, and they strongly disagreed that stress was the origin of their

> illnesses. (6) However, in the absence of physical or laboratory

tests

> that can identify possible origins of CFS/ME, FMS or GWI, many

> physicians accept that stress is the cause of these chronic illnesses.

> It was only recently that other causes have been seriously considered,

> including chemical and biological exposures.

>