Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) or Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFS) is very difficult to diagnose, and many patients go from one doctor to another for a long time before they are correctly diagnosed. In fact up to 1993 it was still being argued whether the disease existed at all. Many were of the opinion that it was psychosomatic, and drugs such as tranquillizers and anti-depressants were often prescribed.

In the present study, a group of patients who had been treated for periods of between one and 35 years by conventional methods were placed on the new regimen of anti-oxidants and selected nutrients for a period of 2 months and the results assessed.

Patients: There were twenty males, average age, 31 years, (Range 18 to 50) and thirty-six females, average age 38.6 years
(Range 16 to 57). Of this group not one out of the 56 had shown any improvement after being treated for an average of 7.95 years by conventional methods.

Results of New Treatment

Average time with M.E. = 7.95 years using regular treatments for M.E. NONE of the patients showed IMPROVEMENT from the usual treatments and some had already paid over R40,000 in doctors fees.

Average time to observe recovery* with new treatment = 8.95 days
*Recovery, means very much better and back to normal activities.

Mean time treated conventionally without cure = 2905 days
Mean time for recovery with new treatment = 8.95 days

t-test CONCLUSIVE p = 0.0000

A significant correlation (P = 0.024) exists between the length of previous treatment by various conventional methods and the new anti-oxidant treatment (Correlation coefficient = 0.305).

We cannot directly compare conventional treatments with the new treatment, because none of the patients had benefited by the former. However, these patients constitute a statistically selected group, since if a patient were cured he/she would not have come for the new treatment. Nevertheless, for those patients who were not cured by many years of the conventional methods of treatment ALL of them recovered within a period of 2 months on the new treatment. This result means that we can say that the new treatment is at least 325 times as good as the old treatments, and the fact that there is a correlation between the time exposed to conventional treatments and the time to recover with the new treatment, may indicate that some of the conventional treatments are detrimental to the patients. The probability of this result being due to chance is less than one in a million.

[In normal medical statistics a level of error of 5 in 100 is significant, a level of 1 in 100 is definite, and a level of 1 in 1000 is conclusive.]

It is concluded that:

1) The new M.E. treatment is conclusively better than any previous treatment, in fact it appears to be a genuine cure since some patients have already been off the treatment regimen for over 2 1/4 years without recurrence of M.E./ CFS.

2). M.E. symptoms are caused by a deficiency of certain nutrients and anti-oxidants, which is rapidly nullified once the proper nutrients and anti-oxidants are supplied. For continued good health the patient should therefore ensure that he/she maintains a balanced diet of nutrients and anti-oxidant foods after stopping the "anti-oxidant regimen".

In order to determine if the symptoms are caused by a deficiency of one or several critical nutrients or anti-oxidants a much larger experimental study is required making use of factorial replication.

"Care must be taken in the diagnosis of patients, since the regimen applied is not supposed to cure various intercurrent infections such as nasal drip, sinus infections, and similar problems which can interfere with the patient's sense of wellbeing, and delay the elimination of the symptoms of CFIDS."

Dr T. A. Kilroe-Smith
October 1996