Journal of IiME Volume 6 Issue 1 (June 2012) treatment was surprisingly fine. During the observation period of one year on 160 patients, 22 of them (14%) withdrew from treatment. Very few side effects were seen in relation to the treatment and no severe complications were recorded. According to the manufacturer, the vaccine had been used in more than 10 million dosages over the years, and no severe complications have been reported. Our clinical impression is that a majority of patients with FM/CFS are prone to infections. In many cases patients also have an irritable bowel. The clinical impression was that the frequency of infections and symptoms of irritable bowel were reduced during long-term treatment. Our patients found the increased resistance to infections of great value. In 2005 Staphypan was withdrawn from the market. Staphypan was an old product where the manufacturing process had to be developed to cope with modern GMP standards in EU and US. We have tried to find a vaccine that could replace Staphypan but there is no such product at least in the western world. We would assume that a vaccine treatment of the kind presented here eventually due to a super-antigen effect can be of use for patients with ME/CFS, FM and possibly other immune deficiency syndromes. Conclusions ME/CFS is a disorder of unknown aetiology. In controlled investigations it was shown that an immunotherapy, as conveyed by repeated injections of a staphylococcus vaccine preparation, Staphypan, was of clinical benefit for a significant number of patients. The effect was seen at the time when the treatment dose of Staphypan has been increased to 1 ml, the maximum dose used in our studies. The treatment was continued longterm with booster injections of 1 ml vaccine every 3rd to 4th week in order to maintain the effect. The treatment was found safe and the adherence to the treatment was impressive. REFERENCES Andersson M, Bagby JR, Dyrehag LE, Gottfries CG (1998) Effects of staphylococcus toxoid vaccine on pain and fatigue in patients with fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome. European Journal of Pain 2, 133-142 Barregard L, Rekic D, Horvat M, Elmberg L, Lundh T, Zachrisson O (2010) Toxicokinetics of mercury Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) after long-term repeated exposure to thimerosalcontaining vaccine. Toxicol Sci. 120, 499-506 Gottfries CG (1999) Treatment of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome with staphylococcus toxoid. In: The clinical and scientific basis of chronic fatigue syndrome: “From myth towards management”. Proceedings of the International meeting in Sydney, Australia, 11-12 February, 1998, pages 69-78 Gottfries CG, Häger O, Regland B, Zachrisson O (2006) Long term treatment with a staphylococcus toxoid vaccine in patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 13, 31-43 Gottfries CG, Häger O, Gottfries J, Zachrisson O (2009) Immunotherapy of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome by a staphylococcus toxoid. Vaccine Bulletin of the IACFS/ME. 17(4 ),111 Gottfries CG, Matousek M, Zachrisson O (2009) Immunologic disturbances can explain chronic fatigue syndrome. Biological findings point towards somatogenesis. Lakartidningen. 106(36):2209-2210, 2212-2215. Review. Swedish. No abstract available Zachrisson O, Regland B, Jahreskog M, Jonsson M, Kron M, Gottfries CG (2002) Treatment with staphylococcus toxoid in fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome – a randomised controlled trial. European Journal of Pain 6, 455 – 466 Zachrisson O, Regland B, Jahreskog M, Kron M, Gottfries CG (2002) A rating scale for fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (the FibroFatigue scale). J Psychosom Res. 52(6), 501-509 Zachrisson O (2002) Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Aspects on biology, treatment and symptom evaluation. Doctoral thesis, Göteborg University (ISBN 91-628-5386-4) Zachrisson O, Colque-Navarro P, Gottfries CG, Regland B, Möllby R (2004) Immune modulation with a staphylococcus preparation in fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome: antibody levels are related to clinical improvement. European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases 23, 98-105 www.investinme.org Page 22 of 108
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