NZine, New Zealand, 6/25/99, ©1999

The 'Stealth' Bugs – Mycoplasma

By- Jacqueline Steincamp - 25/6/99 

Jacqueline Steincamp - Secretary of M.E./CFS Group (Canterbury) Inc; author of "Overload: Beating M.E./CFS" 

 Mycoplasma found in sufferers from The Gulf War Syndrome and M.E./CFS
 
Some of you may have noticed reported findings of Mycoplasma in British and American Gulf War veterans suffering what is called The Gulf War Syndrome. There have also been a few studies of mycoplasmic infections in people with M.E./CFS, multiple chemical sensitivities and fibromyalgia. Significant levels (60-70%) were found by researchers in both Australia and the United States. 

Stealth bugs

They have been labelled Stealth bugs or Stealth viruses because they are so hard to detect. Standard antibacterial or antiviral tests do not pick them up. 

Effects of mycoplasma

Mycoplasma are a strange set of critters - a cross between bacteria and viruses. They hide inside cells, often in the most secret places of our bodies. They are associated with violent arthriticky symptoms plus depression, sometimes stomach upsets and vomiting for no apparent cause, extreme weakness and tiredness, immune dysfunction, hormonal disturbances, lessened ability to absorb nutrients, debility and muscle wasting. Because of their continued presence in the body, they can trigger immune over-activation, inflammatory cytokine over-production and switch on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis - both characteristic of M.E./CFS and FMS. Mycoplasma are infective, and often develop following chemicals exposure and trauma. 

Research spurred by Professor Garth and Dr Nancy Nicolson

High levels of mycoplasma infections were found in American and British soldiers with the Gulf War Syndrome. It is largely the efforts of Nobel Prize nominee molecular biologist Prof. Nicolson and his wife Dr Nancy Nicolson which has spurred other research into these nasty little critters. Both were infected by their daughter who had been seconded home from the Gulf War with symptoms typical of Gulf War Syndrome. 

Is M.E./CFS infectious? Though the experts claim that M.E./CFS is not infectious, to my mind, there were definitely infective aspects in the Tapanui 'Flu outbreak in the early eighties. To my knowledge, these have never been satisfactorily explained.

Detecting and treating mycoplasmal infection

The most accurate way of detecting mycoplasmal infection is by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests on opened white blood cells. Not available at your local medical laboratory! Treatment is with certain antibiotics and supportive therapies. The antibiotics must be able to penetrate cell walls, as the mycoplasma are hidden inside cells.

Impact of mycoplasma on two New Zealand sufferers

Mycoplasma were brought to the attention of the Canterbury M.E.CFS Group by two members - both men. Andy, a Wellingtonian, is a keen sportsman Sˇ Iron Man and all that sort of stuff. He, and a number of his sporty friends, have had this type of chronic illness for some years. At one stage his family thought it might be M.E. Andy was lent a copy of "The Arthritis Breakthrough" (reviewed at the end of this article). He found it so related to his problems that he managed to convince his GP and a rheumatologist to undertake antibiotic therapy. He is now almost back to normal. 

Interestingly, Andy's sister, another keen sportsperson, has had some inexplicable illhealth along with very high prolactin levels - but no evidence of pituitary problems. Because she knew of the infective nature of mycoplasma, she thought it worthwhile trying the antibiotic therapy too. The result? Her prolactin levels are now normal.

Quite independently, another member has also been tracking down mycoplasma as the cause of his troubles. He had worked for a chemicals processing company, and was also involved in sports. He is now educating his local GP on the subject, and once specialised blood tests provide confirmation, will be venturing down the antibiotic path. 

Here follows part of Andy's story:

"As the months rolled and I gradually began to accept that I wasn't going to shake the disease off quickly, I became increasingly depressed. It was only then that I realized how much of my life had revolved around the outdoors and exercise.

"During this time I tried alternative treatments, including: reducing the acidity in my diet; drinking potato juice; taking vitamin, mineral and antioxidant supplements; and taking glucosamine sulfate. I think these helped to relieve my symptoms though none was even close to being a cure.

"I found it very difficult when friends and family continued to suggest different home remedies. The longer the disease went on, the less faith I had that I would ever recover. The myriad of suggestions somehow seemed to reinforce this, and made me increasingly upset and irritable.

"A book on antibiotic treatment for arthritis (The Arthritis Breakthrough, by Henry Scammell) was just one of the many articles and suggestions I received. Initially I threw it, unread, into a bottom drawer. It stayed there for a few months until around February 1997, when I had just returned from a work trip to Canada in the Northern Hemisphere winter. Two weeks in a cold snowy environment had made my joints dramatically worse, so I arrived back feeling very despondent. 

"Lacking any better strategy, and wanting time alone, I took a day off work planning to stay in bed all day in an attempt to come to terms with where my life seemed to be going. Halfway through that day I started flicking through this book. It is based on the view that a particular type of infectious agent - the mycoplasma - is responsible for causing arthritis.

"Within half an hour I was engrossed. It was as if the author knew me. For the first time ever I heard an account of the full range of symptoms that I had experienced around the onset of arthritis. Symptoms such as nausea, occasional vomiting, running a long-term but low grade fever, persistent tiredness and bouts of depression, were accurately described. Equally importantly, the book provided the first credible explanation I had heard on what causes the disease. To my lay person's mind, the infectious agent-based explanation that was provided made infinitely more sense than anything I had heard or read before."

Andy went on the antibiotics, but had great trouble at first, in that when he took the antibiotic and a certain anti-inflammatory drug together, he had violent reactions. It took a while to sort the problem out, but eventually he was able to start back on the antibiotic treatment full-time. 

"I noticed the benefits more or less immediately. While I initially had a bad flare-up in early 1997 when I first took antibiotics (it is quite common for symptoms to initially get worse) this time I felt better pretty much straight away.

"In the 17 months since then I have improved dramatically, and am now in many ways fully recovered. I can easily run, cycle and tramp and suffer only minimal joint pain. The improvement process over those months was slow and sometimes frustrating. Sometimes I slipped backwards. But whenever I stopped and thought about how I had been before, there was never any real doubt that I was consistently improving.

"Regardless of whether I get any better than I currently am, I can easily say that starting on the antibiotic therapy was worth every bit of the effort it took. It has literally given me my life back. Although my joints are pretty close to being perfect (my friends are at pains to tell me that everyone gets slightly sore knees when tramping or cycling in cold weather!), I still have a few other symptoms which I suspect are related. For example, I have had Occupational Overuse Syndrome for almost 10 years and this has recently significantly improved. Similarly, I have noticed improvements in my overall energy levels and sense of well being. I still feel there's room for improvement in these areas, and have decided to keep on the therapy for another six months or so to see what additional improvements I can achieve. 

"I urge you to look into the antibiotic approach if you are suffering from a form of inflammatory arthritis (as opposed to osteoarthritis). Read the material that's available and talk to an appropriate medical practitioner." 

A few New Zealand practitioners familiar with the treatment In 1995 there were no medical practitioners here familiar with the treatment. Now a few GPs and rheumatologists are following this approach with their patients. 

Want more information?
 
We have copies of a 26-pp Mycoplasma Information Package, put out by a Californian CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) group. (See p.2 for details). It contains the antibiotic and treatment protocols of molecular biologist Prof. Garth Nicolson, a Nobel prize nominee, plus U.S.A. contacts for tests, much information from the Shasta CFIDS group, some local N.Z. specialists and a Website: http://rheumatic.org. The very precise PCR testing costs US$150 with another about NZ$150 to forward blood samples in the required manner. If you suspect Mycoplasma may be an underlying factor in your particular patterns of illhealth, it might be worth purchasing this kit and discussing it with your doctor.

Send $5 plus a self-addressed A4 envelope to: M.E./CFS Group (Canterbury) Inc., P.O. Box 29-256, Christchurch. 

The right to search for truth implies also a duty. One must not conceal any part of what one has recognised to be true. ALBERT EINSTEIN 

Book Review

The Arthritis Breakthrough, by Henry Scammell, and The Road Back, by Thomas McPherson Brown, Evans, U.S.A., 1993. 
Reviewed by Glenn Seal, proprietor of the newly opened Health 2000, South City Mall, Christchurch. 

Recently there have been research reports of a mycoplasma found lurking in the bodies of some of those experiencing M.E./CFS, fibromyalgia and Gulf War Syndrome. While this book focuses on arthritic conditions, it provides a good insight into the workings of mycoplasma, and these recent findings place the mycoplasma theory firmly in the future. 

Much is about the noted U.S. rheumatologist Dr Thomas Brown, and his lifelong efforts to establish a cause for rheumatoid arthritis (and allied ills), and especially for its sometimes infective nature. Dr Brown held many prestigious positions including that of medical advisor to the White House. He believed that the autoimmune aspect of the arthritic conditions is actually the body's natural defence against infections in the connective tissues. The book gives a detailed explanation of the antibiotic therapy he developed to treat those hard to treat infections. 

The Arthritis Breakthrough contains many case studies of people with desperately severe arthritis (and other related illnesses) being successfully treated and cured. 

This is certainly an informative and relevant book for anyone suffering from inflammatory arthritis. This disease, for which there is still no medical explanation, is as troublesome today as it has ever been. Any information of this nature is always relative until modern medical technology proves the contents to be correct or incorrect. 

There is now a Melbourne Laboratory which tests for mycoplasma and is much cheaper than the U.S. - also courier costs are much less. It is Melbourne Forensic Diagnostic Services.