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As a rule, ME agenda does not publish around research, testing or treatments on this site and the following media coverage and press release material are posted under the Category: ME in the Media.
Dr Charles Shepherd, Medical advisor and Trustee of the ME Association, told the Daily Mail:
”This is an interesting scientific observation which needs to be looked at in more detail and verified by independent researchers before we can conclude it is a diagnostic test for this illness. We have a research fund* and we would be interested in testing this hypothesis on other groups of patients.”
Dr Shepherd and Professor Kenny de Meirleir have both been named as members of the Editorial Board of a new journal called “Fatigue” due to launch early 2010.
*The Ramsay Research Fund is the dedicated research arm of the ME Association.
The ME Association published the following statement on 2 June:
http://www.meassociation.org.uk/content/view/875/161/
Media coverage:
Telegraph | 1 June 2008 | Liz Hunt
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/5407749/ME-Proof-that-it-isnt-all-in-the-mind.html
ME: Proof that it isn’t all in the mind?
Belgian doctors, Professor Kenny De Meirleir and Dr Chris Roelant, have developed a simple test that, they claim, solves the mystery of ‘yuppie flu’…
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Daily Mail | 29 May 2009
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1189291/Scientists-develop-home-testing-kit-ME.html
Scientists develop home-testing kit for ME
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Telegraph | 29 May 2009 | Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
Simple £13 test ‘could be used to diagnose patients with ME’
“A simple £13 test could be used to diagnose patients with Myalgic encephalopathy (ME), scientists believe, and potentially offer hopes of treatment for many. The researchers believe that the condition, thought to affect around 250,000 people in Britain, is triggered by an overabundance of certain bacteria in the gut and a build-up of toxins in the body…”
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Slides used in the London Press Conference, can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/15fr3o
Media scientific information, here, on ME agenda (2MB PDF): Press Conference-KDM-2
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£13 home-test kit developed for ME
Scientists have developed a £13 home-testing kit which they claim will help identify people suffering from myalgic encephalopathy (ME).
The urine test is based on the theory that the illness is strongly linked to certain bacteria and a build up of toxins in the body.
Experts are divided on what exactly causes ME, which was dismissed as “yuppie flu” in the 1980s.
At a conference in London, Professor Kenny de Meirleir, who works at the University of Brussels, discussed his theory.
He and fellow scientists have developed a simple urine test which they say identifies the presence of high levels of the chemical hydrogen sulphate.
This chemical builds up after antibiotic use or exposure to salmonella infection, and can occur when there is too much exposure to mercury, he said.
Prof de Meirleir’s research has shown that around 90% of patients with ME also have an excess of the bacteria enterococcus and streptococcus, which he believes interacts with exposure to metals to produce hydrogen sulphate.
Prof de Meirleir, who treats between 3,000 and 4,000 ME patients a year, said his patients had been shown to excrete high quantities of the metals copper, mercury and nickel, possibly contracted through the environment or food.
Prof de Meirleir said his new test, produced by his company Protea Biopharma and available via its website from Monday, accurately shows whether an ME patient has high levels of hydrogen sulphate. The patient’s urine turns a dark colour when mixed with a chemical agent in the test.
“This is a test for a major cause of ME,” he said.
“Anyone with a positive result should talk about it with their GP and get referred to a specialist.”
Ends
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Ed: Kenny de Meirleir will be presenting at the 4th Invest in ME International ME/CFS Conference in London, today, 29th May.
Kenny de Meirleir is a member of the editorial board of a new journal controversially titled “Fatigue” which we are told will debut in early 2010. The journal’s Editor, Dr Derek Enlander, has yet to issue a formal statement of clarification setting out the scope and intentions of this proposed publication. The Editorial Board has been announced as comprising Derek Enlander, Editor (USA), Charles Shepherd (UK), Jonathan Kerr (UK), Dharam Ablashi (USA), Paul Cheney (USA), David Bell (USA) and Kenny de Meirleir (Belgium).
See previous postings:
https://meagenda.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/journal-fatigue-whats-in-a-name-co-cure/
https://meagenda.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/new-journal-fatigue-whats-in-a-name/
https://meagenda.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/more-on-journals-and-the-f-word/
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