Carl-Gerhard Gottfries

Source:Erik Nilsson

Carl-Gerhard Gottfries, MD, PhD, is a Swedish professor, ME/CFS doctor, and founder of the Gottfries Clinic, Mölndal, Sweden. After developing chronic fatigue syndrome following a case of the flu, he discovered that monthly injections of a staphylococcus aureus vaccine boosted his immune system, successfully allowing him to return to work. He has continued using a staphylococcus vaccine injection every month for over fifty years.

Clinic

Gottfries Clinic AB (Gottfriesmottagningen), was previously financed through the health-care system, but now is privately operated. It is a specialty clinic for the 1) evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of patients with fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), chronic fatigue and widespread muscular pain, and 2) research for developing and treatment for such patients. Located at Krokslätts Torg 5, Mölndal, Sweden.

2017 Ramsay Award

A team comprised of Dr. Jonas Bergquist and Dr. Jonas Blomberg of Uppsala University and Dr. Carl-Gerhard Gottfries and Dr. Olof Zachrisson of the Gottfries Clinic were awarded a 2017 Ramsay Award grant from the Solve ME/CFS Initiative for research into biomarkers for initiation (infection) and metabolic derangement in ME/CFS.

Talks and interviews

• Sept 2014, Interview with Professor Carl-Gerhard Gottfries, Part 1: Background and Vaccine
• Sept 2014, Interview with Professor Carl-Gerhard Gottfries, Part 2: Experience and The Clinic
• Sept 2014, Interview with Professor Carl-Gerhard Gottfries, Part 3: The Clinic and Urgent Needs
• Sept 2014, Interview with Professor Carl-Gerhard Gottfries, Part 4: Continued Research

Notable studies

• 1997, Increased concentrations of homocysteine in the cerebrospinal fluid in patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (Abstract)
• 1998, Effects of staphylococcus toxoid vaccine on pain and fatigue in patients with fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome (Abstract)
• 2000, Nickel Allergy is Found in a Majority of Women with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Muscle Pain - and may be Triggered by Cigarette Smoke and Dietary Nickel Intake (Abstract)
• 2002, A rating scale for fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (the FibroFatigue scale) (Abstract)
• 2004, Immune modulation with a staphylococcal preparation in fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome: relation between antibody levels and clinical improvement (Abstract)
• 2006, Long-Term Treatment with a Staphylococcus Toxoid Vaccine in Patients with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Abstract)
• 2011, Murine gammaretrovirus group G3 was not found in Swedish patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia (Full Text)
• 2012, No evidence for xenotropic murine leukemia-related virus infection in Sweden using internally controlled multiepitope suspension array serology (Full Text)
• 2013, Epitopes of Microbial and Human Heat Shock Protein 60 and Their Recognition in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full Text)
• 2015, Response to Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia(Full Text)
• 2018, Infection Elicited Autoimmunity and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: An Explanatory Model (Full Text)
• 2018, A randomised controlled trial of the monoaminergic stabiliser (-)-OSU6162 in treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (Abstract)
• 2019, Antibodies to Human Herpesviruses in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients - (Abstract)

• 2020, Autoantibodies to beta-adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) patients – A validation study in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid from two Swedish cohorts - (Full text)

See also

• Staphylococcus aureus
• Staphylococcus vaccine
• Sweden
• Dr Markov's chronic bacterial intoxication syndrome (CBIS) theory of ME/CFS (Dr Markov has evidence that ME/CFS is caused by a dysbiosis in the kidneys)

Learn more

• 2015 - Carl-Gerhard Gottfries: A Swedish Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Story by Cort Johnson

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

antibodies Antibody/immunoglobulin refers to any of a large number of specific proteins produced by B cells that act against an antigen in an immune response.

randomized controlled trial (RCT) - A trial in which participants are randomly assigned to two groups, with one group receiving the treatment being studied and a control or comparison group receiving a sham treatment, placebo, or comparison treatment.

antibodies Antibody/immunoglobulin refers to any of a large number of specific proteins produced by B cells that act against an antigen in an immune response.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

autoantibody An antibody that works against the body's own antigens, a hallmark of autoimmune diseases. Autoantibodies are the opposite of an antibodies.

β β / Β. Greek letter beta (a symbol used in science), equivalent to "b".

Involving the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Cholinergic side effects include diarrhea, blurred vision, decreased intraocular pressure, contricted pupil in the eyes, sweating, increased saliva and mucus on the lungs, bronchial constriction, increased gastrointestinal tone, decreased blood pressure, slow heart rate, and contraction of bladder detrusor muscle. muscle spasms/cramps, low blood pressure, slowed heart rate, nausea and vomiting, increased saliva and sweating, shortness of breath, and urinating more often.

cholinergic Involving the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Cholinergic side effects include diarrhea, blurred vision, decreased intraocular pressure, contricted pupil in the eyes, sweating, increased saliva and mucus on the lungs, bronchial constriction, increased gastrointestinal tone, decreased blood pressure, slow heart rate, and contraction of bladder detrusor muscle. muscle spasms/cramps, low blood pressure, slowed heart rate, nausea and vomiting, increased saliva and sweating, shortness of breath, and urinating more often.

somatic symptom disorder A psychiatric term to describe an alleged condition whereby a person's thoughts somehow cause physical symptoms. The actual existence of such a condition is highly controversial, due to a lack of scientific evidence. It is related to other psychiatric terms, such as "psychosomatic", "neurasthenia", and "hysteria". Older terms include "somatization", "somatoform disorder", and "conversion disorder". Such terms refer to a scientifically-unsupported theory that claims that a wide range of physical symptoms can be created by the human mind, a theory which has been criticized as "mind over matter" parapsychology, a pseudoscience.