Irving Spurr

Irving Spurr, MD, was a General Practitioner in the UK. He was Chairman of The John Richardson Group. He had extensive experience with enteroviruses and their implication with ME/CFS.

He "uses immunogloulin treatment extensively and has not done a RCT [randomized controlled trial] because he does not believe it is ethical to not offer it to clients. There are apparently problems with the use of IVIG in the UK and so he used IM."

Dr Spurr wrote a treatise on what he called, EvME, i.e., ME caused by persistent enteroviruses, entitled, Enteroviral Myalgic Encephalomyelitis - EvME: See File:EvME.pdf

"Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is recognised by the WHO as a neurological disease. It is well annotated in medical literature, from the polio epidemics in 1930s-40s [Gilliam]. Defined by Melvin Ramsay in the 1950s - Royal Free Disease and in the 1960s by Luis Leon Sotomayor. In 1970 the BMA published a paper by two psychiatrists. Dr C P McEvedy and Dr A W Beard which concluded that the Royal Free outbreak was largely due to hysteria. The effect on medical opinion was far reaching and still prevails. The effect on patients was and remains catastrophic.

The enteroviruses, ubiquitous in nature, are responsible for a variety of human diseases ranging from mild gastroenteritis to fulminating multi-organ failure. They are the cause of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and it is no surprise that this disease has multi-organ involvement with protean manifestation.

Enterovirus genus is comprised of Polioviruses, Coxsackieviruses A&B, Echoviruses and E71 [Enterovirus 71]. They are members of the Picornaviridea family. The Picorna family is marked by its extremely small size. The virion is a naked icosahedron about 30 nm in diameter. The genome is comprised of single-stranded monopartite RNA. While Poliomyelitis has virtually been eradicated in the Western world, others of the genera have filled the vacuum so created [E71]. Enteroviruses, as the name implies, persist in the gut and are remarkably resistant to its harsh conditions. They mutate slowly, en passage, to re-challenge host resistance; pandemics occurring every 2-4 years. Diseases can range from relatively minor gastrointestinal upset to paralysis, meningitis, encephalitis, cardiac damage and birth defects. Sub clinical and mild infections are by the far most common."

Talks and interviews

• 2008, Speaker at the 3rd Invest in ME International ME Conference on A GP’s Experiences of Diagnosis and Treatments of ME/CFS - (Video)

See also

• John Richardson
• Enterovirus

See randomized controlled trial.

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.

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

enterovirus A genus of RNA viruses which typically enter the body through the respiratory or gastrointestinal systems and sometimes spread to the central nervous system or other parts of the body, causing neurological, cardiac, and other damage. Since the first reports of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), enteroviruses have been suspected as a cause of ME. Enteroviruses have also been implicated as the cause of Type I diabetes, congestive heart failure, and other conditions. Enteroviruses include poliovirus, coxsackieviruses, and many others. New enteroviruses and new strains of existing enteroviruses are continuously being discovered. (Learn more: viralzone.expasy.org)

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.

enterovirus A genus of RNA viruses which typically enter the body through the respiratory or gastrointestinal systems and sometimes spread to the central nervous system or other parts of the body, causing neurological, cardiac, and other damage. Since the first reports of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), enteroviruses have been suspected as a cause of ME. Enteroviruses have also been implicated as the cause of Type I diabetes, congestive heart failure, and other conditions. Enteroviruses include poliovirus, coxsackieviruses, and many others. New enteroviruses and new strains of existing enteroviruses are continuously being discovered. (Learn more: viralzone.expasy.org)

an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes

genome an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes

enterovirus A genus of RNA viruses which typically enter the body through the respiratory or gastrointestinal systems and sometimes spread to the central nervous system or other parts of the body, causing neurological, cardiac, and other damage. Since the first reports of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), enteroviruses have been suspected as a cause of ME. Enteroviruses have also been implicated as the cause of Type I diabetes, congestive heart failure, and other conditions. Enteroviruses include poliovirus, coxsackieviruses, and many others. New enteroviruses and new strains of existing enteroviruses are continuously being discovered. (Learn more: viralzone.expasy.org)

See chronic fatigue syndrome.