Daniel Peterson

Daniel L. Peterson, MD, is a physician in Incline Village, Nevada specializing in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). He was at the epicenter of the 1984 Incline Village chronic fatigue syndrome outbreak and continues to be a leader in treatment and research about ME/CFS, serving on Simmaron Research’s Scientific Advisory Board and the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.

He helped establish the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI) which was renamed in 2016 the Nevada Center for Biomedical Research. He left in 2010 to return to private practice at Sierra Internal Medicine, Incline Village, Nevada. In 2019, he joined the scientific advisory board of the Open Medicine Foundation.

Dr. Peterson was the first physician to use Ampligen, an immunomodulator made by AIM ImmunoTech (formerly Hemispherx Biopharma), in the treatment for ME/CFS, using it on Nancy Kaiser, a very severe patient. He has participated in every Ampligen trial since, up to the AMP-511, open label, cost-recovery trial available today.

Several documentaries about myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) have featured Dr. Peterson, including, I Remember Me and Forgotten Plague, and the news feature, Sick and Tired.

Awards

• 2003, Rudy Perpich Senior Lectureship Award, presented to a distinguished CFS/FM scientist, physician or healthcare worker awarded by IACFS/ME
• 2007, Nelson Gantz Outstanding Clinician Award awarded to a physician who emulates Nelson Gantz's clinical acumen, his passion for medicine, and his empathy for persons with CFS/FM awarded by IACFS/ME

Writing committees

• 2003, Canadian Consensus Criteria - Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols (Full Text)

• 2015, IOM Committee on Diagnostic Criteria for ME/CFS - Dr Peterson was a reviewer for the 2015 report produced by the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Diagnostic Criteria for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Notable studies

• 1992, A chronic illness characterized by fatigue, neurologic and immunologic disorders, and active human herpesvirus type 6 infection (Abstract)
• 1992, Clinical, Epidemiologic, and Virologic Studies in Four Clusters of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Abstract - can request full article)
• 1995, Long Term Improvements in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Treated with Ampligen (Abstract)
• 1997, Editorial - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Disability (Abstract)
• 2000, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Cancer (Abstract)
• 2001, Neuromyasthenia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in Northern Nevada/California: A Ten-Year Follow-Up of an Outbreak (Abstract)
• 2003, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols (Full Text)
• 2004, Clinical and Biochemical Characteristics Differentiating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome from Major Depression and Healthy Control Populations: Relation to Dysfunction in the RNase L Pathway (Full Text)
• 2012, A Multicenter Blinded Analysis Indicates No Association between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and either Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-Related Virus or Polytropic Murine Leukemia Virus (Abstract)
• 2012, A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, clinical trial of the TLR-3 agonist rintatolimod in severe cases of chronic fatigue syndrome (Full Text)
• 2014, No association found between the detection of either xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus or polytropic murine leukemia virus and chronic fatigue syndrome in a blinded, multi-site, prospective study by the establishment and use of the SolveCFS BioBank (Full Text)
• 2015, Cytokines in the Cerebrospinal Fluids of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full Text)
• 2015, Findings from a clinical and laboratory database developed for discovery of pathogenic mechanisms in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (Abstract)
• 2015, Chronic fatigue syndrome and co-morbid and consequent conditions: evidence from a multi-site clinical epidemiology study (Abstract)
• 2015, Distinct plasma immune signatures in ME/CFS are present early in the course of illness - (Full text)
• 2016, Cytokine network analysis of cerebrospinal fluid in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (Abstract)
• 2017, Fecal metagenomic profiles in subgroups of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (Full Text)
• 2017, Multi-Site Clinical Assessment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (MCAM): Design and Implementation of a Prospective/Retrospective Rolling Cohort Study (Full Text)
• 2017, Immune network analysis of cerebrospinal fluid in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome with atypical and classical presentations (Full Text)
• 2018, Decreased Expression of TRPM3 and mAChRM3 in the Small Intestine in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full text)
• 2018, Insights into myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome phenotypes through comprehensive metabolomics (Full Text)
• 2020, Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients exhibit altered T cell metabolism and cytokine associations - (Full text)
• 2021, Molecular evidence of autophagy impairment as serum level of ATG13 is elevated in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome: two independent case-control studies - (Pre-print, Full text)
• 2022, Elevated ATG13 in serum of patients with ME/CFS stimulates oxidative stress response in microglial cells via activation of receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) - (Abstract)

Talks and interviews

ME/CFS Alert

• 2012, Episode 26, ME/CFS Alert interview
• 2013, Episode 50, ME/CFS Alert interview

Invest in ME International ME Conference

• 2007, Speaker on Day 1 of the 2nd Invest in ME International ME Conference on Experiences of Research into ME/CFS: Past, Present, and Future - (Video)
• 2007, Speaker on Day 2 of the 2nd Invest in ME International ME Conference on Clinical Research - (Video)
• 2009, Speaker at the 4th Invest in ME International ME Conference on Treatment Regimes for the Most Severe Cases DVD available
• 2012, Speaker at the 7th Invest in ME International ME Conference on Clinical Research Update 2012 DVD available
• 2013, Speaker at the 8th Invest in ME International ME Conference on Key Note Speech: The Mainstreaming of ME Research DVD available

Other

• 1996, Primetime Live TV Show - Sick and Tired - Incline Village Outbreak
• 2000 Documentary, I Remember Me, directed by Kim A. Snyder
• 2011, Dr. med. Dan Peterson (Simmaron Research) - Diagnose und Behandlung von ME/CFS, Teil 2
• 2011, Dr. med. Dan Peterson (Simmaron Research) - Diagnose und Behandlung von ME/CFS, Teil 1
• 2012, Phoenix Rising - Dr Daniel Peterson (July 12)
• 2015, 2015 De osynliga -Seminarium om ME/CFS, Sweden 19 October
• 2017, Solve ME/CFS Initiative’s 2nd Annual Discovery Forum: Presentation by Dr. Dan Peterson

Online presence

• Profile
• PubMed

See also

• Ampligen
• Sierra Internal Medicine
• 1984 Incline Village chronic fatigue syndrome outbreak
• Paul Cheney
• List of myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome outbreaks
• Canadian Consensus Criteria

Learn more

• Wikipedia - Daniel Peterson (physician)
• 1990, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• 2019, A Town for People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - New Yorker - about Ampligen

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

An immunomodulator is a substance that affects the functioning of the immune system

immunomodulator An immunomodulator is a substance that affects the functioning of the immune system

National Academy of Medicine (NAM) - An American non-profit, non-governmental organization which provides expert advice to governmental agencies on issues relating to biomedical science, medicine and health. Formerly known as the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

See National Academy of Medicine.

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.

double blinded trial A clinical trial is double blinded if neither the participants nor the researchers know which treatment group they are allocated to until after the results are interpreted. This reduces bias. (Learn more: www.nottingham.ac.uk)

A chemical that binds to the receptor and stimulates it's function, e.g., morphine is an opioid agonist that binds to the opioid receptor, reducing pain. The opposite of an antagonist.

agonist A chemical that binds to the receptor and stimulates it's function, e.g., morphine is an opioid agonist that binds to the opioid receptor, reducing pain. The opposite of an antagonist.

blinded trial A clinical trial is blinded if either the participants or the researchers don't know which treatment group they are allocated to until after the results are interpreted. (Learn more: www.nottingham.ac.uk)

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.

cytokine any class of immunoregulatory proteins secreted by cells, especially immune cells. Cytokines are small proteins important in cell signaling that modulate the immune system. (Learn more: me-pedia.org)

The clear yellowish fluid that remains from blood plasma after clotting factors have been removed by clot formation. (Blood plasma is simply blood that has had its blood cells removed.)

serum The clear yellowish fluid that remains from blood plasma after clotting factors have been removed by clot formation. (Blood plasma is simply blood that has had its blood cells removed.)

microglia A type of immune cell, called a macrophage, that lives in the brain. For historical reasons, macrophages have different names based on the part of the body that they normally live in. Macrophages that normally live in the blood are called monocytes. Macrophages that normally live in the skin are called Langerhans cells. Macrophages that normally live in the liver are called Kupffer cells. And macrophages that normally live in the central nervous system are called microglia. Microglia were originally classified as glial cells, under the assumption that the cells had a merely structural function, before it was realized that the cells were in fact immune cells. As the "sentinel cells" of the central nervous system, microglia survey their environment for abnormalities such as infection or tissue damage, and then initiate an immune response to fight the infection or repair the tissue damage.

cytokine any class of immunoregulatory proteins secreted by cells, especially immune cells. Cytokines are small proteins important in cell signaling that modulate the immune system. (Learn more: me-pedia.org)

cytokine any class of immunoregulatory proteins secreted by cells, especially immune cells. Cytokines are small proteins important in cell signaling that modulate the immune system. (Learn more: me-pedia.org)

microbiome The full collection of microscopic organisms (especially bacteria and fungi) which are present in a particular environment, particularly inside the human body.