MCS researcher Martin Pall published at The Townsend

Posted on Feb 25, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Research, Susie Collins

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity researcher Martin L. Pall’s paper, “How Can We Cure NO/ONOO− Cycle Diseases? Approaches to Curing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Gulf War Syndrome and Possibly Many Others,” is published in the February/March 2010 issue of The Townsend Letter: The Examiner of Alternative Medicine. Pall is Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Science at Washington State University.

The entire essay is published at the Townsend, here’s an excerpt:

Feb/March 2010 cover of The Townsend Letter

The NO/ONOO− cycle is a biochemical vicious cycle that is thought to cause such diseases as chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), fibromyalgia (FM), and possibly a large number of other chronic inflammatory diseases. The chemistry/biochemistry of the cycle predicts that the primary mechanism is local such the depending on where it is localized in the body, it may cause a variety of different diseases.

Previous studies have shown that agents that lower such cycle elements as oxidative stress, nitric oxide, inflammatory responses, mitochondrial dysfunction, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) depletion and NMDA activity produce clinical improvements in CFS/ME and FM patients, consistent with the predictions of the cycle mechanism. Multiagent protocols lowering several aspects of the cycle appear to be the most promising approaches to therapy. These include an entirely over-the-counter nutritional support protocol developed by the author in conjunction with the Allergy Research Group.

However, such mulitagent protocols to date have not produced any substantial numbers of cures of these presumed NO/ONOO− cycle disease. Why is that? This paper argues that what is called the central couplet of the cycle, the reciprocal relation between peroxynitrite elevation and BH4 depletion, is not being adequately downregulated by these multiagent protocols. Ten agents/classes of agents are available, each of which downregulates one or the other end of this central couplet. It is suggested, then, that treatments that simultaneously effectively downregulate both ends to the central couplet, when used along with multiagent protocols lowering other aspects of the cycle and avoidance of stressors that otherwise upregulate the cycle, will lead to substantial numbers of cures of these chronic diseases.

Martin L. Pall, PhD

It’s very exciting to see Pall published at The Townsend. I think he’s on the leading edge of MCS research, and I urge you to learn more about his findings.

A major paper on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity by Pall (at left) was published last year as chapter XX in a prestigious reference work for professional toxicologists, General and Applied Toxicology, 3rd Edition (2009, John Wiley & Sons). Pall’s paper, entitled “Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Toxicological Questions and Mechanisms,” establishes five important facts about MCS: 1) MCS is common; 2) MCS is caused by toxic chemical exposure; 3) the role of chemicals acting as toxicants in MCS has been confirmed by genetic studies; 4) there is a detailed and generally well supported mechanism for MCS, the NO/ONOO- cycle; and 5) MCS is a physiological disease initiated by toxic chemical exposure that has been falsely claimed to be psychogenic.

Pall is located on Pacific time in the U.S. and can be contacted at: 503-232-3883 and at martin_pall@wsu.edu. His web site is: thetenthparadigm.org.

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3 Responses to “MCS researcher Martin Pall published at The Townsend”

Aylwin Catchpole

26. Feb, 2010

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is caused by an infectious Enterovirus, the same family of viruses that caused Polio. The
NO/ONOO changes are a result & not a cause of ME. It also can cause MCS & many allergies etc. I am sure that treating this aspect could be helpful, but in the particular case of ME, will not undo the Brain Stem damage nor remove the Enteroviral infection. Dr. Pall is indeed doing great work, but is only looking at the “one bit of the elephant” in ME, at the expense of the core cause. Please see hfme.org for more info.

Reply to this comment
- Susie Collins
  
  28. Feb, 2010
  
  Aloha Aylwin, I held your comment in moderation until I could consult with Martin Pall about your assertions. This is his response to your comment:
  
  The following is my response to Aylwin Catchpole’s undocumented claims. There have been many attempts to argue that CFS/ME is simply a response to infection by a specific infectious agent, but none of them has ever been shown to fulfill Koch’s postulates or any modern version of Koch’s postulates. Consequently, his claim that enterovirus is THE cause is not supported by the literature. What is true is that we have substantial support that CFS/ME has a very good fit to the five principles underlying the NO/ONOO- cycle. These five principles are the rough equivalent of Koch’s postulates for NO/ONOO- cycle diseases. So here we do have substantial and I would argue overwhelming evidence that the NO/ONOO- cycle is causal.
  
  There is specific substantial specific published evidence that contradicts Aylwin Catchpole’s claim – evidence from the pattern of stressors shown to be able to initiate cases of CFS/ME, evidence from genetic studies of susceptibility, implicating excessive superoxide levels, mitochondrial dysfunction and also inflammatory biochemistry as causal elements and also a various clinical trial studies of potential therapeutic agents also implicating these factors and other elements of the cycle as causal elements in CFS/ME. If Aylwin Catchpole wishes to argue with all of this evidence, he is free to publish his arguments but at this point, we must view the foundation of his comments as being based on quicksand.
  
  One more point, the web site that he cites does not provide any evidence whatsoever supporting his view. It simply provides unsupported opinion, and unsupported opinion is never the basis of good science.
  
  Martin L. Pall, PhD
  
  Reply to this comment
Lourdes

26. Feb, 2010

Thank you for sharing this important research with everyone Susie!

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