The Environmental Illness Resource is an excellent website that grew, as Matthew Hogg, its founder and editor says in his 'about us' page, 'out of a a wish to create one place where information on a number of related, and poorly understood, chronic illnesses, variously referred to as environmental illnesses and chronic neuroimmune disorders among other, could be presented.

At its inception in 2003 there were a number of great websites that provided excellent information on one, or a couple of these illnesses, but there was a need for a site that covered them all - since the information presented for one is often very useful for sufferers of some of the others.'

Since EIR covers many conditions that are very relevant to FoodsMatter visitors, we are delighted to be able to share some of the articles to be found on Matthew's site. Please read on...

Dr. Kenny De Meirleir's Lecture - November 3, 2007

Report by Blake Graham, BSc, AACNEM of www.nutritional-healing.com.au

Dr. Kenny De Meirleir, MD, PhD, spoke in Perth, Western Australia on November 3, 2007 at a seminar sponsored by the ME/CFS Society (WA). Kenny has seen over 12,000 CFS patients and first became interested in CFS in 1989. His research team has performed over 4,000 in vitro experiments and published many peer reviewed articles on CFS.
I attended both his talks to the general public and to health professionals, plus got the opportunity to ask a large number of questions after the professionals talk. The following is based on written notes and from memory, not directly quoting Kenny.

Gastrointestinal Problems

More than 80% to 90% of patients have gastrointestinal symptoms. Gastrointestinal abnormalities range from one end of the gastrointestinal tract to the other.

• Saliva pH is low (below 7 - acidic) which leads to both dental problems and disturbed oral flora.

• Patients display delayed gastric emptying.

• Biopsies of gastric mucosa on patients show all patients have atrophic gastritis [chronic inflammation of the stomach mucosa, or lining].

• When biopsy of the cecum is performed infiltration of lymphocytes is also found in all patients. [Lymphocytes are white blood cells with specialized immune functions. The cecum is a pouch where the small intestine transitions to the large intestine. Branching off from it is the small worm-like appendix.]

In Kenny's last 100 patients, a point [at] 2 cm right then 2 cm down from the umbilicus is tender after mild pressure. This is the point just above the cecum. Tenderness is a sign of imbalanced intestinal bacteria.

Intestinal Mucosal Health

Patients have a compromised gastrointestinal mucosal integrity which contributes to immune activation and is a major factor in CFS. The cause of intestinal barrier damage is multifactorial and complex......
Read on here....

First published in FoodsMatter in 2012.

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