Journal of IiME Volume 2 Issue 2 www.investinme.org Letter from America A A LLeett tteerr ttoo MMyy EEnnggll ii sshh FF rr iieennddss :: B Byy DDrr .. AA.. MMaarr tt iinn LLeerrnneerr Thank you for your kindnesses to me during my visit to London to participate in your May 2008 International ME Conference. I had the unique opportunity to meet and speak personally with many of you. Thank you again. I address concerns among CFS physicians endeavoring to help our CFS patients. We all agree with criteria for the internationally accepted CFS definition. Dr Martin Lerner Today, the “gold” standard for evidencebased medicine proof of cause depends upon a trial of treatment with two similar equal number groups of patients, matched for age, time and place. One equal group receives the treatment option-in-question, and the second equal group receives a placebo. (We further know in CFS that the placebo improvement healing rate is 19%!) If the treatment group of the proposed randomized blinded trial improves in a much larger percentage, and, if this trial is repeated by a second independent group of investigator physicians, everyone would accept that the treatment in question was useful. To date “useful” CFS treatments are psychotherapy and graded exercise. (I am omitting my own studies for now.) In Europe I believe that the tentative leading cause of CFS is “CFS is a psychiatric condition, a neurosis.” Neither of these courses, graded exercise or psychotherapy with or without psychotropic medicines, leads to a normal life for the CFS patient. Dr Martin Lerner is Clinical Professor Wayne State University School of Medicine Dr Lerner is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is an Infectious Disease Specialist. Dr. Lerner has published over 10 papers since 1993 on the role of subclinical myocarditis in a subset of CFS patients. He has also reported success with long courses of antiviral therapy in patients with chronic EBV and CMV infections.. Dr Lerner presented at the IiME International ME/CFS Conference in London in 2008. • An evidence-based truth according to the famous polymath, David Hume requires cause, etiology, and this requires • A) to be always followed by, • B) a necessary condition. (continued on page 13) Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) Page 12/74
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