Journal of IiME Volume 4 Issue 1 www.investinme.org SPEAKERS and ABSTRACTS of the 5th INVEST in ME INTERNATIONAL ME/CFS CONFERENCE transmission. The finding of enteroviral RNA and growth of non-cytopathic viruses from the same tissues support the validity of protein staining. As enteroviruses have been largely forgotten since the eradication of poliomyelitis through effective vaccination, there is no specific antiviral therapy for acute or chronic infections. Pleconaril, an anti-capsid agent, showed limited benefit in 1/4 patients with ME/CFS associated with chronic enterovirus infections. Intravenous immunoglobulin, given monthly or every few months, can ameliorate inflammatory symptoms in less than 1/3 of adult patients, but may be more effective in pediatric patients. The combination of alpha and gamma interferon can induce short-term remission in about 45% of ME/CFS patients with debilitating myalgia, but is quite expensive and often poorly tolerated. Oxymatrine, or Equilibrant, have beneficial effects in 52% of 500 ME/CFS patients, but transient increase in pre-existing symptoms are expected in most of the patients. Cytokine gene expression study during therapy demonstrates an increase of IL12/Il10 ratio in 7/7 responders but in 0/10 non-responders. A decrease of stainable enteroviral protein is demonstrated in the stomach biopsies of few responders on oxymatrine or Equilibrant therapy. Previous evidence for enterovirus infection in ME/CFS from over a decade ago has been confirmed and extended in recent studies. Development of antiviral therapy against enteroviruses is paramount; and the importance of enteroviruses in ME/CFS can be realized with a randomized, placebo-controlled antiviral drug trial. and scientific presentations in a range of fields relevant to the illness. While practicing in Lake Tahoe in 1984-1987, Dr. Cheney, along with Dr. Dan Peterson, helped lead a research effort with the NIH, the CDC and Harvard University School of Medicine studying a localized outbreak of what would eventually be known as ME/CFS. He was a founding Director of the American Association of CFS (now the International Association for CFS/ME). Dr. Cheney holds a PhD in Physics from Duke University in Durham, NC and is a graduate (MD) of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA where he also completed his internal medicine residency. He is a board certified internist. Since 1990, Dr. Cheney has headed the Cheney Clinic, presently located in Asheville, NC. The Cheney Clinic specializes in evaluating CFS patients and has expertise in diagnosis, disability support for and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome. No single clinic has drawn as many CFS patients (currently over 5,000) from as many states (48) and foreign countries (22) as has the Cheney Clinic. Dr. Paul Cheney – Abstract: Oxygen Toxicity as a Control Point in the Management of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome By Paul R. Cheney MD, PhD Dr. Paul Cheney MD, PhD Dr. Paul Cheney, MD, PhD, is Medical Director of the Cheney Clinic in Asheville, North Carolina. For more than 25 years, Dr. Cheney has been a pioneering clinical researcher in the field of ME/CFS and has been an internationally recognized authority on the subject of ME/CFS. He has published numerous articles and lectured around the world on ME/CFS. Dr. Cheney has been interested in many aspects of ME/CFS, and is author or co-author of numerous publications Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) BACKGROUND The subject of oxygen utilization, and especially the lack of it in CFS, has been the focus of many investigations. The oxygen response deficit with exercise in CFS is very appealing as an avenue of explanation for fatigue. Whether it is cause or effect, however, is unknown. We began our studies on oxygen itself by noting with echocardiography that patients with CFS had a much higher incidence of diastolic dysfunction than control groups. Cardiac diastolic dysfunction has a strong energy dependent component and therefore potentially related to oxygen utilization and to CFS. METHODS: During a ten-month period, 67 consecutive patients plus 24 additional patients presenting for either initial or follow-up evaluation for CFS were evaluated using echocardiography coupled to a series of varied interrogations on the echo Page 48/56
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