Re Universal Measurement tool for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Hope it is ok to repost it but it sounds like a valuable tool for both doctors and patients...

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Ann Cavanagh, Communications Director
Dr. A Martin Lerner CFS Foundation
+1 415.990.7150


Physician Challenges Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Community to Implement Universal Measurement Tool

• Universal tool for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) will improve evaluation, treatment and legitimacy of disease
• Energy Index Point Score® (EIPS®) Measures Disability of CFS Patients
• EIPS® validated through research published In Vivo: The International Journal of Experimental and Clinical Pathophysiology and Drug Research



BEVERLY HILLS, MI – October 19, 2009 — Dr. A. Martin Lerner of the Treatment Center for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (www.treatmentcenterforcfs.com) in Beverly Hills, MI issues an immediate call to action to the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) community - in an effort to implement a universal measurement guideline for the treatment of CFS.

"The CFS community urgently requires a common measurement to evaluate and treat patients. Just as oncologists are able to determine treatment and prognosis based on the stage of cancer, an infectious disease physician can do the same for CFS," says Dr. A. Martin Lerner, Founder of The Treatment Center for CFS in Beverly Hills, MI.

"With measurement tools comes a common language for research, a universal standard for evaluation and treatment, and ultimately the legitimacy this disease deserves. I issue a call to action today, to physicians and patients alike, to join me in using the Energy Index Point Score® system for treatment of CFS."

Dr. A. Martin Lerner of The Treatment Center for CFS in Beverly Hills, MI has devoted the past 20 years of his life to research and treatment of CFS after recovering from the disease himself. During his efforts, Dr. Lerner realized the need for a measurement tool to evaluate the degree of disability for each patient, as well as track the success of each recovery. Without a benchmark, fatigue was too subjective and difficult to measure. From this need he created the Energy Index Point Score® (EIPS®), Registered, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office - a functional capacity measurement tool for CFS patients (reference attached PDF for the EIPS® system).

The EIPS® system defines the severity of patient fatigue, 0-10, through measurement of real-life situations including one's ability to sit, stand, be out of bed, work, perform housework, socialize, exercise. The EIPS® level is determined through discussion between the physician and patient. A change in EIPS® level of one is a significant change in health and lifestyle for the patient, as CFS symptoms decrease when the EIPS® increases. For full EIPS® tool visit http://www.treatmentcenterforcfs.com/energy_index_score/documents/EIPS.pdf

"Using the EIPS® as a benchmark for my practice and research has improved my ability to gauge illness as well as capture individuals' improvements. It is also an extremely helpful teaching tool for discussing parameters with a patient…what they can and can't do as they heal" says Dr. Lerner.

"As a CFS patient, the EIPS® has helped me understand what my short-term and long-term goals are and should be. For example, I know that I'll relapse again if I start to exercise before I'm an 8," says Carol Gill, CFS patient of the Treatment Center for CFS. "Before I started treatment with Dr. Lerner I didn't know how to manage my symptoms. I was up one month and down the next. With the use of his EIPS® management tool I've watched myself steadily improve over time."

The EIPS® has been validated as a measurement for disability in patients with CFS through a research effort published by In Vivo: The International Journal of Experimental and Clinical Pathophysiology and Drug Research, entitled "Validation of the Energy Index Point Score to Serially Measure the Degree of Disability in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome."

"In an effort to move forward in the treatment of this horrible affliction, we as doctors need to join together and assess patients uniformly. Just as the US government has assigned standard categories for storms in order to assess damages and prepare next steps, we as doctors who treat CFS need to rely on benchmarks for our patients in order to assess physical ailments and prepare our next steps," says Dr. Lerner.