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Story on Mycoplasma/Chronic Fatigue Syndromeby reporter Lori Matsukawa,Aired on nightly news February 15, 2000, on TV station MSNBS, King 5 NEWS, Seattle, Washington. The online transcript can be found at http://msnbc.com/local/KING/537710.asp CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROMESEATTLE, February 15 – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is tough to diagnose and many times, physicians tell their patents what they have is psychological. Now it seems, long-term use of antibiotics appears to be curing some people’s symptoms, but the therapy is still being resisted by many doctors. Ken Lassesen couldn’t walk down this path without collapsing in sheer exhaustion. WHEN KEN LASSESEN of Kingston first came down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, he couldn’t walk down his path without collapsing in sheer exhaustion. The software engineer said the disease robbed his body and brain of oxygen. "The one of the things that I discovered was I was unable to read more than two or three paragraphs of the newspaper. By that time I couldn’t remember what the first paragraph was," said Lassesen. Sean and Leslee Dudley of San Diego also were diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. "I also wasn’t able to go up the stairs, I had to stop in the middle of the stairs and recoup for 10 or 15 minutes," said Sean Dudley. "Memory loss, confusion, I couldn’t read, I felt like I was getting Alzheimer’s Disease, I’d find the mail in the refrigerator. It was a frightening experience," added Leslee Dudley. It’s estimated that millions of Americans have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and similar illnesses like Gulf War Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. Mycoplasma cannot be detected through standard blood tests. For a decade, many patients were told there was no cure, that the diseases were psychological or caused by chemical exposure. But a Southern California researcher said the diseases appear to be caused by very small bacteria called mycoplasma. This means the diseases can be treated with antibiotics. It also means the diseases are contagious. Researcher Garth Nicolson found mycoplasma cannot be detected through standard blood tests. He developed a special DNA test to diagnose patients and he recommends long-term treatment with antibiotics. That’s where conventional medicine bristles. "Mycoplasma may be the culprit, but I’d like to see some proof," said Dr. Paul B. Brown, rheumatologist. "Until we have that, I’m concerned about patients just taking antibiotics long-term for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome." "There’s a concern that some of these organisms might become resistant to antibiotics or that the antibiotics themselves might cause some additional problems with long-term therapy. We just have not seen that and other physicians who have used long-term antibiotic therapy have not see that," said Prof. Garth Nicolson, Institute of Molecular Medicine. Ken Lassesen takes Doxycycline, which is commonly prescribed for acne, and Bromelain, a supplement that boosts the antibiotic. He said he had some initial adverse reaction, but has no qualms about taking antibiotics for a year. "If I actually had TB, they wouldn’t hesitate to give me three years of it," he said. "We hope that the CDC will soon reclassify mycoplasma as a contagious reportable disease and clean up this epidemic," said Leslee Dudley. Mycoplasma trials are just getting underway at some VA hospitals. For now, most physicians hesitate to prescribe long-term antibiotic treatment until they’re sure bacteria are the culprits. |
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