Summary-line: 1-May thorntn@ccu.umanitoba.ca #Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research *** EOOH *** Return-Path: Date: 1 May 91 13:01 -0500 From: Duncan Thornton To: Subject: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research Hi everybody - I thought this from the New York Times News Service might be of interest: Two small studies suggest a possible organic explanation for chronic fatigue syndrome. British scientists report that low level of magnesium may play a part in this illness of unknown cause. Although it is unclear whether magnesium deficiency is a cause or a symptom of the illness, the researchers found that patients treated with magnesium injections reported improvements in their condition. The cautioned, however, that their results should be viewed as preliminary because the trial was small and the followup time short. The findings were published in the March 30 issue of _The Lancet_, a British medical journal. The studies were done by Dr. Michael Campbell, a medical statistician at Southhampton General Hospital, Ivan Cox, a medical student at the University of Southhampton and Dr. David Dowson, a Southhampton physician. "This study shows a dramatic improvement in a small group of people with this illness, but it is too soom to say that this is an appropriate treatment that will be of help to the vast majority of patients," said Dr. Jay Levy, a professor of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, who has been searching for possible viral causes of the disease. The researchers said they decided to explore magnesium levels in patients with chronic fatigue because malabsorption of magnesium, a rare disorder, had been associated with lethargy and weakness. p.s. Are there many people out there on the immune list who (like me) have CFS/CFIDS/Yuppie 'Flu/M.E./etc.? - Duncan Duncan Thornton | Astronomy teaches the correct use of the sun and thorntn@ccu.umanitoba.ca | the planets. - Stephen Leacock