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WHAT CAUSES MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS?
Dr Janice Bishop, writing in the Medical Journal of Australia, describes M.E. as:
The preferred descriptive name for a poorly defined syndrome with a possible variety of causes (of which an antecedent viral infection is the most likely), which occurs sporadically and in epidemics, and results in a prolonged, frequently relapsing disorder characterised by a peculiar muscle weakness, severe head, neck and limb pains, mental changes and a varying incidence of symptoms and objective neurological findings in the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous systems. The central and dominant feature is abnormal muscle fatigue, which often has a diurnal periodicity.
She points out that during the past fifty years, since the first epidemic was reported in Los Angeles in 1934, approximately thirty epidemics have been reported in Britain, USA, Iceland, Switzerland, Alaska, Australia, Denmark, Europe and South Africa.
Dr A.M. Ramsay, honorary consultant physician to the Royal Free Hospital, London, in an article published in the British Medical Journal, says:
In recent years routine antibody tests on patients suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis have shown raised titres to Coxsackie Group B viruses. It is fully established that these viruses are the aetiological agents (the cause) of Epidemic Myalgia or Bornholm Disease and together with Echo viruses, they comprise the commonest known virus invaders of the central nervous system.
This must not be taken to imply that Coxsackie viruses are the sole agents of myalgic encephalomyelitis since any generalised virus infection may be followed by a period of post viral debility. Indeed the particular invading microbial agent is probably not the most important factor. Recent work suggests that the key to the problem is likely to be found in the abnormal immunological response of the patient to the organism.
Dr David Smith, medical adviser to the M.E. Society of Great Britain, describes M.E. as a ‘post viral syndrome’.
It is quite clear from the studies that this particular syndrome, this complex of symptoms, is related to many viruses. It is often Coxsackie B virus which is responsible but it can also be the Echo viruses or Epstein-Barr viruses; post jaundice syndrome and in one case, a chicken pox virus. It is therefore unimportant what name is given M.E. We are still presented with a group of people suffering from a complex post viral syndrome, a complex of undisputed suffering and problems.
These extracts show that informed, senior medical practitioners, who have studied the disease, are in agreement that M.E. originates from a viral infection which affects the cells and damages the immune system. The most debilitating after-effect is the inability of the body to cope with a wide range of foods and chemicals, as well as airborne allergens. This multiple allergy condition is responsible for the multitude of symptoms which constantly plague the sufferer. Once the intolerances are removed, the immune system ceases to be overloaded and the body’s natural mechanisms can begin to repair the damage.
The leading authority on M.E. in New Zealand, Dr R.W. Gorringe, suggests that the immune system of the M.E. sufferer is already abnormal to start with. He goes on to say:
The long-term effect on health is more insidious than first imagined and should not be seen just in simplistic pharmacological terms such as blood levels, excretion rates and so on, but rather attention needs to be directed towards the whole individual and their sense of well-being, level of energy, ability to think and concentrate, initiative, drive, spontaneity, quality of sleep and inter-personal relationship changes.
Dr Gorringe reports that he, personally, looks after one hundred M.E. cases within his practice, and his contacts with other doctors in New Zealand, indicates that there would be at least a further 10,000 sufferers in that country. However, he concedes that most of these people are not recognized as such by their doctors.
M.E. as a clinical syndrome is a multi-systems disease. There are at least sixty-four possible symptoms that can be present in part, or all, at any one time. It is probably this more than anything that has caused doctors and other people to find difficulty in grasping the reality of M.E. The problem is that doctors are taught to believe in the law of parsimony. This attempts to ascribe a single cause to a single problem, and doctors are taught to look for the lesion or the problem to explain a set of circumstances or symptoms. If multiple symptoms are presented involving multiple systems of the body and which apparently lack cohesive features or a common thread, then this model breaks down. It is then the next most common mistake to use a psychological model and say therefore this is a psychological problem. The commonest labels that people get put on them are ‘neurotic’, ‘hypochondriac’ and ‘depressed’. As blanket diagnoses these are cruelly untrue and a cop-out.
In his excellent book Brain Allergies: the Psychonutrient Connection Dr Philpott recognizes this problem and outlines the correct approach for doctors:
To consider all these apparently different states in terms of a simple disease process provides a valuable framework for treatment, whether the presenting symptomatology be mental or physical. Treating the basic underlying disease process rationally offers a much better prospect of achieving a final and lasting success than does the use of traditional methods.
Dr Gorringe says that people who have M.E. will inevitably develop multiple food and chemical allergies, leading to worsening metabolic malfunction. The affects of this on the mental processes of the sufferer cannot be overstated. The neuro-transmitters in the brain are affected, resulting in incomplete thought processes. This can happen often, but irregularly and particularly in times of stress.
The effects on the life of the sufferer can be devastating. Dr Philpott provides an in-depth explanation as to how and why these mental changes take place and anyone with these problems, should study his book thoroughly.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis is a residual condition, caused by another illness, in most cases a viral infection. It leaves the individual in a state of chronic ill health with a wide range of perplexing and distressing symptoms. These are perpetuated by the continuing toxic effects of food and chemical intolerances, caused by the disease. Once these allergies or intolerances are identified and removed, the toxic overload in the body, reduces to a point where the damaged immune system can begin to recover.
Recovery is possible, although it will sometimes be a slow and frustrating process. By applying the principles contained here in Part II, the sufferer will see a marked improvement in their condition. M.E. is simply another source of multiple allergy illness, and the rules for recovery apply equally to it, as to any other source; for example, candidiasis, coeliac disease and ecological illness.
Further benefits can be gained by the use of additional nutrients and where there is a Candida link, mycostatin can be of great benefit if taken for an extended period.
Recent studies, carried out at Otago Medical School, New Zealand, have shown that the red blood cells of M.E. sufferers are too stiff to pass easily through the capillaries. This affects blood flow to the tissues throughout the body and reduces oxygenation which in turn, causes the tissues to become inflamed and to build up extra toxins. Present indications are that daily doses of evening primrose oil will reduce the problem and may even reverse it entirely, by changing red blood cells back to normal pliability.
People wishing to know more about the illness, and where to find an informed doctor, should contact the M.E. Society in their particular State. For those battling with a current multiple allergy problem, it is important to remember that myalgic encephalomyelitis is only one of many possible causes.
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