David Bell

From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history
Dr. David S. Bell - Source: FaceBook

David S. Bell, MD, is a retired American doctor who had a practice in General Medicine and Pediatrics. He was at the center of the 1985 Lyndonville outbreak of the disease in upper New York state in the United States. Dr. Bell serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Open Medicine Foundation[1] and is a member of the Working Group which offers their expertise and resources to the ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Stanford University.[2]

Dr. Bell has been involved in numerous studies and was one of the authors of the International Consensus Criteria for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).[3] He also developed a pediatric case definition for ME/CFS[4] and has written guidance for ME/CFS in children.[5]

He has given several talks and interviews throughout the years and has also written articles for the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Health Rising as well as authoring/co-authoring several books on ME/CFS.

International Consensus Criteria[edit | edit source]

Dr. Bell is one of the authors of the 2011 case definition, International Consensus Criteria.[3]

Pediatric case definition[edit | edit source]

Notable studies[edit | edit source]

  • 1997, Illness Onset Characteristics in Children with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Idiopathic Chronic Fatigue[6]
  • 1998, Circulating Blood Volume in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome[7]
  • 2000, The roles of orthostatic hypotension, orthostatic tachycardia, and subnormal erythrocyte volume in the pathogenesis of the chronic fatigue syndrome[8] - (Abstract)
  • 2001, Thirteen-Year Follow-Up of Children and Adolescents With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome[9] - (Abstract)
  • 2003, Predictive immunophenotypes: Disease-related profile in chronic fatigue syndrome[10] - (Full text)
  • 2006, Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Pediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Things Parents Need to Know[11] - (Abstract)
  • 2009, Severe versus Moderate criteria for the new pediatric case definition for ME/CFS[12] - (Abstract)
  • 2012, Understanding long-term outcomes of chronic fatigue syndrome[13] - (Full Text)

Talks and interviews[edit | edit source]

Articles[edit | edit source]

Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome[edit | edit source]

Open Medicine Foundation[edit | edit source]

Dr. Bell has noted that in children and adolescents, noting that symptoms can be different and that the ME/CFS hallmark symptom of post-exertional malaise may not be described by them and instead exertion, such as taking a school bus, can cause a relapse needing prolonged periods in bed. If an adolescent spent three months in bed due to ME/CFS they will still be ill at age 35 even if their symptoms were mild in their adult years. Becoming increasing ill with activity and symptom severity is expected 15-20 years later.[18]

One study of young adults followed for fifteen years demonstrated clear improvement in activity, but not illness resolution. The same group of patients continued to do relatively well for a further five to ten years and then became worse in both activity limitation and symptom severity. It is rare for an adolescent to become completely free of the disease.[18]

Health Rising[edit | edit source]

  • Aug 18, 2015, Dr. Bell's Home Orthostatic Intolerance (OI) Test[19]
  • Sept 30, 2015, Dr. David Bell on Low Blood Volume in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome[20]
  • Oct 2, 2015, When Panic Isn't: Dr. Bell on Maggie's ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia Story[21]
  • Oct 4, 2015, Dr. Bell on Understanding Orthostatic Intolerance in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia[22]

Books[edit | edit source]

  • 1991, Chronic Fatigue/Immune Dysfunction Syndrome. CFIDS: The disease of a thousand names: CFIDS--chronic fatigue/immune dysfunction syndrome, David Bell - Pollard Publications[23]
  • 1993, Curing fatigue: a step-by-step plan to uncover and eliminate the causes of chronic fatigue, David Bell - Stef Donev - Rodale Press
  • 1994, The doctor's guide to chronic fatigue syndrome: understanding, treating, and living with CFIDS, David Bell - Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
Renamed edition of Chronic Fatigue/Immune Dysfunction Syndrome. CFIDS: The disease of a thousand names: CFIDS--chronic fatigue/immune dysfunction syndrome (1991).
  • 1999, A parents' guide to CFIDS: how to be an advocate for your child with chronic fatigue immune dysfunction, David Bell - Haworth Medical Press
  • 2000, Faces of CFS: case studies of chronic fatigue syndrome, David Bell - The Author
  • 2007, Neuro-immune fatigue ME/CFS/FM and cellular hypoxia, David Bell - WingSpan Press

Open Letter to The Lancet[edit | edit source]

Two open letters to the editor of The Lancet urged the editor to commission a fully independent review of the PACE trial, which the journal had published in 2011. In 2016, Dr. Bell, along with 41 colleagues in the ME/CFS field, signed the second letter.

  • February 10, 2016, An open letter to The Lancet, again - Virology blog[24]

Online presence[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

Learn more[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Scientific Advisory Board". Open Medicine Foundation. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  2. "OMF grants $1.2M to Ramp Up Collaborative Research Center at Stanford University". bos.etapestry.com. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Carruthers, Bruce M.; van de Sande, Marjorie I.; De Meirleir, Kenny L.; Klimas, Nancy G.; Broderick, Gordon; Mitchell, Terry; Staines, Donald; Powles, A.C. Peter; Speight, Nigel; Vallings, Rosamund; Bateman, Lucinda; Baumgarten-Austrheim, Barbara; Bell, David; Carlo-Stella, Nicoletta; Chia, John; Darragh, Austin; Jo, Daehyun; Lewis, Donald; Light, Alan; Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya; Mena, Ismael; Mikovits, Judy; Miwa, Kunihisa; Murovska, Modra; Pall, Martin; Stevens, Staci (August 22, 2011). "Myalgic encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Criteria". Journal of Internal Medicine. 270 (4): 327–338. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2796.2011.02428.x. ISSN 0954-6820. PMC 3427890. PMID 21777306.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Jason, Leonard A.; Jordan, Karen; Miike, Teruhisa; Bell, David S.; Lapp, Charles; Torres-Harding, Susan; Rowe, Kathy; Gurwitt, Alan; De Meirleir, Kenny (January 2006). "A Pediatric Case Definition for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 13 (2–3): 1–44. doi:10.1300/J092v13n02_01. ISSN 1057-3321.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "ME/CFS in Children - by David S. Bell, MD | Open Medicine Foundation". Open Medicine Foundation. June 25, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  6. Bell, David S. (1995), "Illness Onset Characteristics in Children with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Idiopathic Chronic Fatigue", Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 3 (2): 43-51, doi:10.1300/J092v01n01_03
  7. Streeten, David H.P.; Bell, David S. (January 1998). "Circulating Blood Volume in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 4 (1): 3–11. doi:10.1300/J092v04n01_02. ISSN 1057-3321.
  8. Streeten, D.H.; Thomas, D.; Bell, D.S. (July 2000). "The roles of orthostatic hypotension, orthostatic tachycardia, and subnormal erythrocyte volume in the pathogenesis of the chronic fatigue syndrome". The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. 320 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1097/00000441-200007000-00001. ISSN 0002-9629. PMID 10910366.
  9. Bell, David S.; Jordan, Karen; Robinson, Mary (2001), "Thirteen-Year Follow-Up of Children and Adolescents With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome", Pediatrics, 107 (5): 994-998, PMID 11331676
  10. Stewart, Carleton C.; Cookfair, Diane L.; Hovey, Kathleen M.; Wende, Karl E.; Bell, David S.; Warner, Carolyn L. (2003). "Predictive immunophenotypes: Disease-related profile in chronic fatigue syndrome". Cytometry Part B: Clinical Cytometry. 53B (1): 26–33. doi:10.1002/cyto.b.10034. ISSN 1552-4957.
  11. Bell, David S.; Van Hoof, E. (January 2006). "Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Pediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Things Parents Need to Know". Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 13 (2–3): 79–88. doi:10.1300/J092v13n02_05. ISSN 1057-3321.
  12. Jason, Leonard; Porter, Nicole; Shelleby, E; Till, L; Bell, David S; Lapp, Charles W; Rowe, Kathy; De Meirleir, Kenny (2009), "Severe versus Moderate criteria for the new pediatric case definition for ME/CFS", Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 40 (4): 609-20, doi:10.1007/s10578-009-0147-8
  13. Brown, Molly M.; Bell, David S.; Jason, Leonard A.; Christos, Constance; Bell, David E. (2012), "Understanding long-term outcomes of chronic fatigue syndrome.", Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68 (9): 1028-35, doi:10.1002/jclp.21880
  14. CFS and the CDC's Failure to Respond: Primetime Live (1996), retrieved February 19, 2020
  15. "IIMEC6 International ME Conference 2011". Invest in ME Research. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  16. Bell, David S. (January 1995). "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Children". Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 1 (1): 9–33. doi:10.1300/J092v01n01_03. ISSN 1057-3321.
  17. "Prognosis of ME / CFS – by David S. Bell, MD". Open Medicine Foundation. August 1, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  18. 18.0 18.1 "ME/CFS in Children - by David S. Bell, MD | Open Medicine Foundation". Open Medicine Foundation. June 25, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  19. "Dr. Bell's Home Orthostatic Intolerance (OI) Test". Health Rising's Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia Forums. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  20. "Dr. David Bell on Low Blood Volume in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". Health Rising's Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia Forums. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  21. "When Panic Isn't: Dr. Bell on Maggie's ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia Story". Health Rising's Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia Forums. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  22. "Dr. Bell on Understanding Orthostatic Intolerance in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia". Health Rising's Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia Forums. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  23. Bell, David S. (1991). Chronic Fatigue/Immune Dysfunction Syndrome. CFIDS: The disease of a thousand names. Lyndonville, NY: Pollard Publications. Archived from the original on February 16, 2010.
  24. "An open letter to The Lancet, again". Virology blog. Retrieved February 19, 2020.