Donald Lewis



Dr Donald P. Lewis is a general practitioner specialising in ME/CFS working in Melbourne, Australia. He has been treating patients with ME/CFS, and researching the condition, since 1985.

International collaboration
He is one of the authors of the 2011 case definition, International Consensus Criteria.

Notable Studies

 * 2017 - The association of fecal microbiota and fecal, blood serum and urine metabolites in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome "Abstract - Introduction: The human gut microbiota has the ability to modulate host metabolism. Metabolic profiling of the microbiota and the host biofluids may determine associations significant of a host–microbe relationship. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a long-term disorder of fatigue that is poorly understood, but has been linked to gut problems and altered microbiota. Objectives: Find changes in fecal microbiota and metabolites in ME/CFS and determine their association with blood serum and urine metabolites. Methods: A workflow was developed that correlates microbial counts with fecal, blood serum and urine metabolites quantitated by high-throughput ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The study consists of thirty-four females with ME/CFS (34.9 ± 1.8 SE years old) and twenty-five non-ME/CFS female (33.0 ± 1.6 SE years old). Results: The workflow was validated using the non-ME/CFS cohort where fecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA) were associated with serum and urine metabolites indicative of host metabolism changes enacted by SCFA. In the ME/CFS cohort a decrease in fecal lactate and an increase in fecal butyrate, isovalerate and valerate were observed along with an increase in Clostridium spp. and a decrease in Bacteroides spp. These differences were consistent with an increase in microbial fermentation of fiber and amino acids to produce SCFA in the gut of ME/CFS patients. Decreased fecal amino acids positively correlated with substrates of gluconeogenesis and purine synthesis in the serum of ME/CFS patients. Conclusion: Increased production of SCFA by microbial fermentation in the gut of ME/CFS patients may be associated with deleterious effects on the host energy metabolism
 * 2016, Widespread pain and altered renal function in ME/CFS patients "Abstract - 'Background: Widespread pain is noted in many patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia and temporomandibular disorders. These conditions usually start as a localized condition and spread to a widespread pain condition with increasing illness duration. Purpose: To aim was to assess the changes in biochemistry associated with pain expression and alterations in renal function. Methods: Forty-seven ME/CFS patients and age/sex-matched controls had a clinical examination, completed questionnaires, standard serum biochemistry, glucose tolerance tests and serum and urine metabolomes in an observational study. Results: Increases in pain distribution were associated with reductions in serum essential amino acids, urea, serum sodium and increases in serum glucose and the 24-hour urine volume; however the biochemistry was different for each pain area. Regression modelling revealed potential acetylation and methylation defects in the pain subjects. Conclusions: These findings confirm and extend our earlier findings. These changes appear consistent with repeated minor inflammatory-mediated alterations in kidney function resulting in essential amino acid deprivation and inhibition of protein synthesis and genetic translation within tissues.'"
 * 2016 - Support for the Microgenderome: Associations in a Human Clinical Population
 * 2015 - Sleep quality and the treatment of intestinal microbiota imbalance in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A pilot study
 * 2015 - Metabolic profiling reveals anomalous energy metabolism and oxidative stress pathways in chronic fatigue syndrome patients
 * 2014 - Comorbidity of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome in an Australian cohort
 * 2009 - Increased d-lactic Acid intestinal bacteria in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Clinic location
Dr Lewis founded the CFS Discovery clinic, which is in Donvale, Melbourne.

Talks & interviews

 * 2011 - Dr Don Lewis: Latest Understanding of ME/CFS (video)

Online presence

 * Website
 * PubMed
 * Twitter
 * Facebook
 * YouTube

Learn more

 * Wikipedia
 * Institution