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A conversation with MCS researcher, Martin Pall, PhD

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, August-Sept, 2005 by Linda Powers

Dr. Pall is Professor of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences at Washington State University. He is currently writing a book called Explaining "Unexplained Illnesses."

How did you become interested in researching this group of illnesses--MCS, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

I came down with a case of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in the summer of 1997. Unlike most CFS sufferers, I had a complete recovery, over a period of about a year and a half. I decided to dedicate the rest of my scientific career to understanding the mechanisms causing this group of illnesses.

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Who is at-risk for developing MCS? Is a genetic pre-disposition necessary? Is early exposure to toxic chemicals in pesticides and solvents critical?

There is evidence for an important genetic role in determining one's tendency to get each of these related illnesses. For MCS, the evidence so far implicates genes involved in chemical metabolism, as well as a gene that helps determine the activity of the NMDA receptors in the brain, receptors that I believe are central to the mechanism of MCS. I would expect that a number of vitamins, magnesium, selenium and a variety of antioxidants may well have a role in preventing MCS. I think that in some individuals, early life stressors may well make them more susceptible to MCS, but in others this will not be a factor.

There are multiple short term stressors that are implicated in this whole group of illnesses, including pesticides and volatile organic solvents, particularly in MCS, infection, particularly in CFS, both infection and physical trauma (particularly head and neck trauma) in fibromyalgia and severe psychological stress in posttraumatic stress disorder. All of these stressors can produce increases in nitric oxide and I have proposed that they may trigger a common biochemical/physiological response that is responsible for these illnesses.

Why is there so much variation of symptoms from one individual to another within this group of illnesses?

One can explain many of the symptoms as being produced by impact on different regions of the brain, as well as different parts of the rest of the body. For example, some people with MCS have lower lung, asthma-like sensitivities, sometimes abbreviated RADS and some do not--and those who have this have tissue impact in the lower lungs. So a specific tissue when impacted by this biochemistry produces a specific response.

Describe the focus of your work with these illnesses and the grants/funding sought

Most of my work, over the past seven years or so has been trying to master large areas of the scientific literature to develop the best possible theory of the etiologic (causal) mechanism of these illnesses. This does not require any outside funding and fortunately, my university has been satisfied to have me do this and has not "bugged" me to seek more grant funding.

This is the type of work that nobody does. The reason for that is two-fold. Firstly, you cannot get research funding to do this type of work. Secondly it is damn hard work and most people do not have either the breadth of background or the interest in pursuing it. This is despite the fact that some very prominent scientists have commented that this is just the type of work that we most need in the biomedical area. We are inundated by experimental results in many areas of biomedical science (not on MCS, however) but have little time to integrate these results into understandable conceptual frameworks.

I did have a small grant on CFS, which allowed me to publish two experimental papers providing support for my theory. I also tried to get funding for two similar trials, one for CFS treatment and second for fibromyalgia treatment. The two foundations that I went to for funding both had the same response. They felt that if the trial worked, we would not know why it worked because there were so many components involved in the trial, and so the foundations were not interested in it. I guess I'd like them to try to convince the sufferers that an effective treatment would not be worth supporting even if one cannot determine exactly how it works.

You've developed a treatment protocol that has a nutritional focus. Describe it.

First, let me remind you that I am a PhD, not an MD, so nothing I write should be interpreted as a recommendation or as medical advice. I have been interested in therapy issues ever since I got involved with this group of illnesses. I think that any etiologic (causal) theory has got to show its value through its ability to suggest effective therapeutic approaches.

Dr. Grace Ziem asked me to come up with a treatment protocol. She had my protocol compounded by a compounding pharmacy and is trying it on her MCS patients. She reports it seems to be substantially more effective than her previous treatment approaches.

The approach that I have taken is based on the use of nutritional supplements rather than conventional pharmaceuticals, and this approach was taken for two reasons. One is that there are not a lot of conventional pharmaceuticals that are attractive candidates for therapy. Secondly, Dr. Ziem wanted us to use as natural an approach as possible, one that might give the injured body (including brain, of course) an opportunity to heal itself.

Health Care Industry

A conversation with MCS researcher, Martin Pall, PhD

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, August-Sept, 2005 by Linda Powers

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