A lot is happening within the CFIDS/ME community at the
moment - with the release of the XMRV research findings and
the upcoming CFS
Advisory
Committee meeting in
Washington, DC
- doctors and patients are standing up together. To keep
this momentum moving, and to capitalize on the shared vision
of doctors and patients alike, Dr. A. Martin Lerner is
issuing a call to action for use of a common language in CFS
evaluation and treatment.
Attached provides a press release as well as a PDF of his
universal CFS measurement/diagnostic benchmark. If you
would like to include in your next member communication, or
simply discuss further, I'm happy to answer any questions or
put you in touch with Dr. Lerner directly.
Thanks much, and look forward to working together in the
near future.
Regards,
Ann Cavanagh, Communications Director
Dr. A. Martin Lerner CFS Foundation
www.treatmentcenterforcfs.com
415.990.7150
Dr. A. Martin Lerner founded the Treatment Center for
Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in
Beverly Hills,
MI. An
Infectious Diseases specialist who was at one time
plagued by CFS, he has committed his life’s work to the
diagnosis and treatment of CFS for patients around the
world. Currently, he is finalizing a research paper on the
diagnosis of CFS, the role of Epstein Barr Virus, Human
Herpes Virus-6 and Cytomegalovirus infections and
co-infections in CFS, the effect these viruses have on the
heart, and the use of oral antiviral treatments for CFS. In
the past 50 years Dr. Lerner has written over 200 original
articles spanning all areas of
infectious
diseases and virology.
Press
Release
For
Immediate Release
Contact: Ann Cavanagh, Communications Director
Dr. A
Martin Lerner CFS Foundation
+1
415.990.7150
anncavan@yahoo.com
Physician
Challenges Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Community to Implement
Universal Measurement Tool
-
Universal tool for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
will improve evaluation, treatment and legitimacy of
disease
-
Energy Index Point Score® (EIPS®)
Measures Disability of CFS Patients
-
EIPS® validated through research
published In Vivo: The International Journal of
Experimental and Clinical Pathophysiology and Drug
Research
BEVERLY HILLS, MI – October 19, 2009 —
Dr. A. Martin Lerner of
the Treatment Center for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (www.treatmentcenterforcfs.com)
in Beverly Hills, MI issues an immediate call to action to
the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) community - in an effort
to implement a universal measurement guideline for the
treatment of CFS.
“The CFS community
urgently requires a common measurement to evaluate and treat
patients. Just as oncologists are able to determine
treatment and prognosis based on the stage of cancer, an
infectious disease physician can do the same for CFS,” says
Dr. A. Martin Lerner, Founder of The Treatment Center for
CFS in Beverly Hills, MI.
“With measurement tools
comes a common language for research, a universal standard
for evaluation and treatment, and ultimately the legitimacy
this disease deserves. I issue a call to action today, to
physicians and patients alike, to join me in using the
Energy Index Point Score® system for
treatment of CFS.”
Dr. A. Martin Lerner of
The Treatment Center for CFS in Beverly Hills, MI has
devoted the past 20 years of his life to research and
treatment of CFS after recovering from the disease himself.
During his efforts, Dr. Lerner realized the need for a
measurement tool to evaluate the degree of disability for
each patient, as well as track the success of each recovery.
Without a benchmark, fatigue was too subjective and
difficult to measure. From this need he created the Energy
Index Point Score® (EIPS®),
Registered, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office - a functional
capacity measurement tool for CFS patients (reference
attached PDF for the EIPS® system).
The EIPS®
system defines the severity of patient fatigue, 0-10,
through measurement of real-life situations including one’s
ability to sit, stand, be out of bed, work, perform
housework, socialize, exercise. The EIPS®
level is determined through discussion between the physician
and patient. A change in EIPS® level of
one is a significant change in health and lifestyle for the
patient, as CFS symptoms decrease when the EIPS®
increases. For full EIPS® tool see
attached PDF [click here] or visit
http://www.treatmentcenterforcfs.com/energy_index_score/documents/EIPS.pdf
“Using the EIPS®
as a benchmark for my practice and research has improved my
ability to gauge illness as well as capture individuals’
improvements. It is also an extremely helpful teaching tool
for discussing parameters with a patient…what they can and
can’t do as they heal” says Dr. Lerner.
“As a CFS patient, the
EIPS® has helped me understand what my
short-term and long-term goals are and should be. For
example, I know that I’ll relapse again if I start to
exercise before I’m an 8,” says Carol Gill, CFS patient of
the Treatment Center for CFS. “Before I started treatment
with Dr. Lerner I didn’t know how to manage my symptoms. I
was up one month and down the next. With the use of his
EIPS® management tool I’ve watched myself
steadily improve over time.”
The EIPS®
has been validated as a measurement for disability in
patients with CFS through a research effort published by
In Vivo: The International Journal of Experimental and
Clinical Pathophysiology and Drug
Research, entitled “Validation of the Energy
Index Point Score to Serially Measure the Degree of
Disability in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.”
“In an effort to move
forward in the treatment of this horrible affliction, we as
doctors need to join together and assess patients uniformly.
Just as the US government has assigned standard categories
for storms in order to assess damages and prepare next
steps, we as doctors who treat CFS need to rely on
benchmarks for our patients in order to assess physical
ailments and prepare our next steps,” says Dr. Lerner.
About
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,
also called Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome
(CFIDS) or Myalgic Encephylomyelitis (ME), affects as many
as 4 million people in the US alone, by CDC estimates, with
a quarter disabled. It affects more Americans than AIDS,
lung cancer and breast cancer combined. Research by the
National Chronic Fatigue foundation found CFS sufferers
average age of death to be as much as 20 years premature to
the average American. It is a multi-symptom disease,
affecting the cardiovascular, immune and central nervous
system. The most publicized symptom of the disease is the
crippling fatigue, with most patients bed-ridden for all but
a few short minutes or hours per day. To the naked eye
these patients may look healthy, due to the “invisible”
nature of the symptoms, many times causing confusion
regarding its legitimacy.
About Dr. A. Martin
Lerner
Dr.
A. Martin Lerner founded the Treatment Center for Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in Beverly Hills, MI. An Infectious
Diseases specialist who was at one time plagued by CFS, he
has committed his life’s work to the diagnosis and treatment
of CFS for patients around the world. Currently, he is
finalizing a research paper on the diagnosis of CFS, the
role of Epstein Barr Virus, Human Herpes Virus-6 and
Cytomegalovirus infections and co-infections in CFS, the
effect these viruses have on the heart, and the use of oral
antiviral treatments for CFS. In the past 50 years Dr.
Lerner has written over 200 original articles spanning all
areas of infectious diseases and virology.
About Dr. A. Martin Lerner CFS Foundation
The
mission of this foundation is to advance research, treatment
and dissemination of information leading to a better
understanding of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Keywords: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, CFS, Chronic Fatigue
and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome, CFIDS, Myalgic Encephilomyelitis, ME, Energy Index Point Score, EIPS, Dr. A
Martin Lerner, Treatment Center for CFS
- End -