Letter from the Publisher

Fibromyalgia: An Overview
by Valerie Cashman, PA-C
Fibromyalgia is a complex disorder, a chronic condition for which there is no cure. There is, however, great potential for increased functionality and improvement in quality of life. Patients may seek the one treatment that will make all their symptoms disappear, but the best long-term management of symptoms is a combination of modern medicine support and healthful habits.  

Pain and Fatigue: When It's Fibromyalgia and When It's Not
David M. Brady, ND, DC, CCN, DACBN, and Michael J. Schneider, DC, PhD
an interview with Nancy Faass, MSW, MPH
Proper diagnosis of FMS is half the cure, and ruling out conditions with similar symptoms is a crucial aspect of that process. This article defines classic fibromyalgia, looking at the elements of diagnosis, including ruling out other pain-related disorders, and applying an integrative team approach.

The New Era of the Virus:
A Personal Learning Curve of the Etiology of CFS/ME
by Wayne Anderson, ND
Over 30 years, the author has seen many trends in correlating infectious disease and chronic fatigue. Viruses have long been the primary suspect, but none compares to the current intense activity being generated in research and treatment. This article summarizes aspects of this complex syndrome in relation to emerging ideas about viruses, reviews recent lab tests used to monitor viral activity, and considers new aspects of immune system dysfunction and treatment possibilities.

Ribose Increases Energy 61% in CFS/Fibromyalgia: A Multicenter Study
by Jacob Teitelbaum, MD
Fibromyalgia represents a cellular energy crisis with many causes. A new study has shown that D-ribose supplementation (Corvalen) increased energy an average of 61% at three weeks, while also improving sleep, cognitive function, pain, and overall well-being. Drawing upon this and other evidence, Dr. Teitelbaum offers his treatment protocol for dramatically improving energy production.

Depression, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, and Pain: Shared Neurobiological Pathways and Treatment
by Peter Bongiorno, ND, LAc
The author discusses the neuroimmunoendocrine commonalities among these conditions to help identify patient-specific natural treatments aimed at correcting the underlying causes, and offers 8 underlying considerations, along with 16 treatments that have helped people with these disorders.

Asymmetric Functional Dysautonomia and the Role of Thiamine
by Derrick Lonsdale, MD, FAAP, FACAM
Asymmetric activity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is well known. Evidence shows that this asymmetry can become exaggerated in association with clinically diagnosed dysautonomia. High-calorie malnutrition is a major cause of dysfunction, giving rise to an extremely common form of dysautonomia. This article shows evidence from the published literature that thiamine plays a huge part in the healthy functions of the heart, brain, and nervous systems, and hypothesizes that the frequent association of dysautonomia with recognizable disease entities is related to defective oxidative metabolism that affects the limbic system control mechanisms.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Etiology, Mechanism, and Epigenomic Manifestations
by Sarah LoBisco, ND
MCS is the diagnostic label to describe the adverse response of certain individuals to various chemicals present within our environment. Phenotypically symptomatic or "sensitive" people have genomes that lie within the normal population, but have more vulnerable polymorphic expressions to their environment. Applying this concept to chronic diseases and idiopathic illnesses could be the answer to our current health-care crisis; we can no longer ignore this interaction between our patients' current internal and external environment, triggers, mediators, and epigenome.

Against the Grain: Mycotoxins in Our Food
by Amy Terlisner, NMD
Mycotoxin, meaning "fungus poison," is a metabolite from fungal metabolism. Mycotoxins produce an array of damaging effects on human health, and even though research on these poisons is scarce, this article attempts to detail what is currently known, focusing on the six major types.

Brain Pain: The Role for Neuromodulation and Novel Applications of Humulus Lupulus
by Dr. Chris Meletis and Dr. Rebecca Berzow
Uncontrolled inflammation and pain are modern epidemics, causing much stress and loss when left untreated. This article goes over the biology of chronic pain, the role of CNS involvement, and the promise of the botanical hops as an anti-inflammatory.

Sleep Problems Can Cause Cravings, Relentless Weight Gain, and Hormonal Imbalances
by Beverly Yates, ND
Many people struggle with obesity and its consequences, feeling doomed to a lifetime of health problems. Dr. Yates discusses aspects of these issues from the viewpoint of both patients and doctors, and addresses the mystery as to why poor sleep can cause weight gain.

Townsend Calendar

. . . the regular features, commentary and opinions we can count on each month from our distinguished columnists.