Daniel Peterson is an American physician in private practice in the state of Nevada, and has been described as a "pioneer" in the treatment of Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). [1] [2] He graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, in 1976 and was an intern and resident at the University of Utah Medical Center from 1976 to 1979. In 1979, he became a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine. [3] He is president of Sierra Internal Medicine of Incline Village, established in 1981. [4]
Along with Paul Cheney, Peterson was a treating physician at Incline Village during an outbreak of ME/CFS that began in 1984 in the Lake Tahoe region. [5] From 1984 to 1987, the illness was recorded in 259 patients in the area by the two physicians. The Lake Tahoe outbreak became the subject of several studies by Peterson and others. In 1995, Peterson and other investigators started conducting a 10-year follow-up study on patients seen during the outbreak. The study results were published in 2001 by the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. [6] In the 2000 CFS documentary I Remember Me, Peterson was interviewed about some of his experiences during the Lake Tahoe outbreak. [7]
In 1988, Peterson was the first physician to treat an extremely ill person diagnosed with ME/CFS with the experimental drug Ampligen by obtaining compassionate-use permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Quantitative improvement in the first patient enabled the next pilot study of Ampligen in ME/CFS patients by Peterson and other researchers. During the 1990 CFIDS Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, Peterson described positive results in 15 CFS patents after he treated them with Ampligen for approximately 6 months. [1] In 1990 and 1991, Peterson was one of four principal investigators for the FDA approved phase II randomized placebo controlled double-blind study of the experimental intravenous drug Ampligen. The drug was administered in his Incline Village facility and three other sites. [8] Peterson and others reported that there was statistically significant improvement in the patients receiving Ampligen. [9] He is a principal investigator of the FDA-approved open-label safety and efficacy phase III drug study of Ampligen for treatment of ME/CFS. [10] Hemispherx Biopharma's New Drug Application for marketing and sale of Ampligen to treat ME/CFS was rejected in December 2009 because the FDA concluded that the two RCTs "did not provide credible evidence of efficacy." [11]
Peterson was a member of the International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Study Group that coauthored the most widely used clinical and research description of CFS, [12] called the 1994 CDC definition, and the Fukuda definition. [13] He is a coauthor of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols, initiated by Health Canada and published by an international group of researchers in 2003. [14] [15] [16]
Peterson, along with Annette and Harvey Whittemore, helped establish the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI) for Neuro-Immune Disease at the University of Nevada in 2005 to aid patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and related illnesses. [17] In October 2009 Peterson was interviewed on National Public Radio about his views on ME/CFS and the newly published possible association with the retrovirus XMRV. [18]
In 2010, Peterson left WPI for personal reasons. He stated there was a lack of collaboration with him over the research direction of the institute concerning XMRV. [19] Peterson then teamed with Jay Levy, one of the original discoverers of HIV, to try to determine whether XMRV is truly present in patients by testing the same patients used in the study published in Science. [19] They did not find indications of XMRV in the blood of the patients tested, and also concluded from their experiments that XMRV does not, "survive well in human blood", so human infection is unlikely. They also stated that research results published by others suggested that laboratory contamination may have resulted in false positive results in the original study. [20]
Peterson is a member of the board of directors and the scientific advisory board of the HHV-6 Foundation, [2] a non-profit organization promoting human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) associated scientific and clinical research. [21] Peterson was part of the founding board and is a past-president of the International Association for CFS/ME, [3] a professional organization advocating for the interests of ME/CFS researchers and clinicians worldwide. [22] [23]
In 2003, he received the Rudy Perpich award, an award given to distinguished CFS/FM scientists, physicians or healthcare workers, and in 2007, received the Nelson Gantz Outstanding Clinician Award from the International Association for CFS/ME. [24]
In 1999, Peterson was commended by the Assembly and Senate of the State of Nevada for his work and dedication to persons with ME/CFS. [25]
The ME Association is a UK health charitable organization that provides information, advocacy, and services to persons and families affected by ME/CFS, and raises funds for research into ME/CFS. It has been reported to be one of the two largest UK charities for ME/CFS.
Rintatolimod, sold under the tradename Ampligen, is a medication intended for treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). There is some evidence it may improve some ME/CFS symptoms.
Xenotropic murine leukemia virus–related virus (XMRV) is a retrovirus which was first described in 2006 as an apparently novel human pathogen found in tissue samples from men with prostate cancer. Initial reports erroneously linked the virus to prostate cancer and later to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), leading to considerable interest in the scientific and patient communities, investigation of XMRV as a potential cause of multiple medical conditions, and public-health concerns about the safety of the donated blood supply.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) has a long history with an evolution in medical understanding, diagnoses and social perceptions.
Management of ME/CFS focusses on symptoms management, as no treatments that address the root cause of the illness are available. Pacing, or regulating one's activities to avoid triggering worse symptoms, is the most common management strategy for post-exertional malaise. Clinical management varies widely, with many patients receiving combinations of therapies.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is an illness with a history of controversy. Although it is classified as an organic disease by researchers, it was historically assumed to be psychosocial, an opinion still common among physicians. The pathophysiology of ME/CFS remains unclear, there exists many competing diagnostic criteria, and some proposed treatments are controversial. There is a lack of awareness about the condition, which has led to substantiated accusations of patient neglect and harm.
Clinical descriptions of ME/CFS vary. Different groups have produced sets of diagnostic criteria that share many similarities. The biggest differences between criteria are whether post-exertional malaise (PEM) is required, and the number of symptoms needed.
The Lightning Process (LP) is a three-day personal training programme developed and trademarked by British osteopath Phil Parker. It makes unsubstantiated claims to be beneficial for various conditions, including ME/CFS, depression and chronic pain.
Graded exercise therapy (GET) is a programme of physical activity that starts very slowly and gradually increases over time, intended as a treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Most public health bodies, including the CDC and NICE, consider it ineffective, and its safety is disputed. However, GET still enjoys support among a minority of clinicians and organizations.
David Sheffield Bell is an American physician who has done extensive research on the clinical aspects of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). He has also conducted evaluations and research in pediatric ME/CFS and written numerous articles about the condition.
Dr. José Gilberto Montoya is a prominent researcher known for his contributions to the field of infectious diseases, particularly in the area of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and the role of infectious agents in its development. His research has shed light on the potential involvement of pathogens and immune dysregulation in the pathophysiology of CFS. He was a Professor of Medicine in Infectious Disease at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he led Stanford's Initiative on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He has worked on a wide variety of projects, including research focused on the efficacy of new smallpox vaccines. Additionally, he was the founder and co-director of the Immunocompromised Host Service and works at the Positive Care Clinic at Stanford. He is originally from Cali, Colombia.
Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit medical research institute dedicated to scientific discovery surrounding complex neuroimmune diseases including chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and other similarly presenting illnesses. Founded in 2005, it is currently located within the Center for Molecular Medicine at the University of Nevada, Reno. It was founded in 2005.
Judy Anne Mikovits is an American former research scientist who has made discredited medical claims, such as that murine endogenous retroviruses are found in blood samples of most patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). As an outgrowth of these claims, she has engaged in anti-vaccination activism, promoted conspiracy theories, and been accused of scientific misconduct. She has made false claims about vaccines, COVID-19, and ME/CFS, among others.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a serious long-term illness. People with ME/CFS experience a profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, sleep issues and problems with memory or concentration. They are able to do much less than before they became ill. Further common symptoms include dizziness, nausea and pain. The hallmark symptom is a worsening of the illness which starts hours to days after minor physical or mental activity. This "crash" can last less than a day to several months.
Rosamund Vallings is a medical doctor, known as one of the leading authorities on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) in New Zealand.
Post-exertional malaise (PEM), sometimes referred to as post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE) or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), is a worsening of symptoms that occurs after minimal exertion. It is the hallmark symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and common in long COVID and fibromyalgia. PEM is often severe enough to be disabling, and is triggered by ordinary activities that healthy people tolerate. Typically, it begins 12–48 hours after the activity that triggers it, and lasts for days, but this is highly variable and may persist much longer. Management of PEM is symptom-based, and patients are recommended to pace their activities to avoid triggering PEM.
Idiopathic chronic fatigue (ICF) or chronic idiopathic fatigue or insufficient/idiopathic fatigue is a term used for cases of unexplained fatigue that have lasted at least six consecutive months and which do not meet the criteria for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Such fatigue is widely understood to have a profound effect on the lives of patients who experience it.
A 2-day CPET is a cardiopulmonary exercise test given on two successive days to measure the effect of post-exertional malaise (PEM) on a patient's ability to exercise. PEM is a cardinal symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and is common in long COVID as well.
Carmen Scheibenbogen is a German immunologist who is the acting director of the Institute for Medical Immunology of the Charité university hospital in Berlin. She specialises in hematology, oncology and immunology. She leads the Outpatient Clinic for Immunodeficiency and the Fatigue Centre at the Charité hospital. She is one of the few doctors specialised in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in Germany, and also researches long COVID.
The PACE trial was a large and controversial trial which compared the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), graded exercise therapy (GET), adaptive pacing therapy, and specialist medical care for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).