Marshall... 'Naked eye examination of the brain at post-mortem, which could reveal scar tissues in Multiple Sclerosis, for example, is unlikely to disclose damage affecting function in ME/CFS/PPS, where the changes are more subtle. Investigations require the use of radio-imaging in life' (eg SPECT scans - Costa DC, Tannock C, Brostoff J. Brainstem perfusion is impaired in patients with CFS/PPS. Quarterly Journal of Medicine. 1995;88:767-773) or of 'molecular techniques to amplify viral genetic material' (by PCR - McGarry F, et al. Enterovirus in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Annals of Internal Medicine, 1994;120:972-973) at post-mortem.
Though deaths from complication such as heart or pancreatic failure, may be officially recorded (BRAME, Forget me not, ME Today, 1997;6:30-34) the lack of attribution to ME/CFS/PPS as the underlying disease, encourages insurance companies to "believe" that it is a benign illness and deny pension rights. (Dowsett EG, Colby J. Long term sickness absence due to ME in UK schools. Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 1997;3(2):29-42) Diabetes? Pre-diabetic? Your doctor may have to use a different standard...CFS, and ME are in this category too. What about those folks who had SV-40 shots years ago, and now have CFS? 'Polio survivors¹ brains act as if they were hypoglycemic; blood sugar levels are about 15 points lower than the actual measurement. A borderline low result on a blood test should be considered abnormal in a polio survivor.' Dr, Richard Bruno, H.D., Ph.,D., The rates of mesotheliomas, lymphomas and brain tumors have also all gone up "dramatically" in the last 30 years. "Coincidence or not, we have to find out," he said. "It's something to think about." American Association of Cancer Research San Francisco, CA April 10, 2002 BMN.com April 10, 2002 See: http://www.mercola.com/article/Diet/sugar/polio_sugar.htm also: Dr. Mercola response to Abstract published by J Infect Disease September 1999;180:884-887 A Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols have been developed by an expert medical consensus panel of treating physicians, teaching faculty and world leaders in the research of ME/CFS. Haworth Press, Inc. published the expert consensus document in a special issue of the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 11(1), on February 1, 2003. The definition provides a flexible conceptual framework that more adequately reflects the complexity of symptoms of a given patient's pathogenesis and should establish ME/CFS as a distinct medical entity and help distinguish it from overlapping medical conditions in the absence of a definitive laboratory test. Laws are being proposed in the US not to accept protocols established in other countries. Curious eh? Regis Vilchez, M.D., M.Sc., who studies the SV40 virus states: "There are no commercial tests to evaluate SV40 infection. Serologic assays such as ELISA for SV40 have a low sensitivity. In addition, a recent FDA panel concluded that none of the current ELISA tests for SV40 are reliable for research or diagnostic. "Therefore, molecular assays such as polymerase chain reaction (qualitative and quantitative) have been used to study the relation of SV40 infections and human malignancies. These tests are currently for research purposes but different laboratories (including Vilchez's) are working to establish them for commercial and diagnostic use. Indeed, this is one of the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine for studies of SV40 in humans." The test is not performed by medical institutions because there is no therapy that can be offered to individuals who may test positive. Individuals who want to be tested for legal reasons should contact a lawyer who works with this issue. Lawyers may be more familiar with labs that may offer this type of service on a case-by-case basis. Hope this helps, Christine
