Two of Nation’s Leading Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Experts Partner to Quantify the Disease

by | Aug 1, 2015 | BHC News, Press

Salt Lake City, UT, Aug 2015 ~ Two of the nation’s leading experts on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)—Bateman Horne Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lucinda Bateman, MD and Researcher Dr. Suzanne D. Vernon, PhD—announce their partnership to quantify diagnostic criteria recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences. This partnership combines over 40 years of clinical and research experience dedicated to solving ME/CFS.

ME/CFS is a debilitating and life threatening disease estimated to affect up to 2.5 million people nationally with reports indicating that upwards of 91% remain undiagnosed. Dr. Bateman was a member of the IOM Committee that penned the 304-page report Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Released in February 2015, the report recommended diagnostic criteria for the main disease symptoms:  fatigue that impairs normal activity, post-exertional malaise, unrefreshing sleep, cognitive impairment and orthostatic intolerance. However there are no tests that quantify or objectively verify these symptoms. For now doctors must rely on what a patient tells them.

“If we are ever to mainstream medical care for the millions who suffer terribly from this disease,” says Dr. Bateman, “there must be diagnostic tests. Dr. Vernon’s experience in identifying biomarkers, establishing biobanks and cost-effectively gathering large amounts of real-life, real-time data will close in on this reality.”

Dr. Vernon will spend the next several months finalizing the research initiative’s design with data collection and analysis continuing into 2016 and beyond. “I’ve had great success recruiting innovative partners and rock star scientists into ME/CFS research,” says Dr. Vernon. “Now Dr. Bateman and I will establish Bateman Horne Center as a center of excellence for research and clinical care.”

LUCINDA BATEMAN, MD, BATEMAN HORNE CENTER

While watching her sister suffer from Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS, Lucinda Bateman, MD, chose to dedicate her career to uncovering the clinical mysteries of these diseases. Now with more than 25 years of research and clinical experience, Dr. Bateman is a nationally recognized clinical expert on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Bateman Horne Center of Excellence for the medical advancement and treatment of Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS. Dr. Bateman attended The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Class of 1987 and completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center.

SUZANNE VERNON, PhD

Suzanne D. Vernon, PhD, is the nation’s leading researcher in ME/CFS, having raised millions of dollars for research studies that have resulted in more than 85 research papers and several international presentations to promote research and collaboration. Vernon earned her PhD in virology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and was awarded a National Science Foundation post-doctoral fellowship at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Vernon was appointed a team leader Research Microbiologist and led the ME/CFS laboratory program for 10 years. In 2007, Vernon became the first scientific director for the non-profit patient advocacy organization Solve ME/CFS Initiative.