An excerpt from THE CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME EPIDEMIC COVER-UP about the late Paul Cheney
In the May 16 “Chronic Fatigue
Report,” Neenyah Ostrom interviewed Dr. Paul Cheney: “I recently asked him to
describe the neurological symptoms displayed by his 200 CFS patients. Cheney
told me that 90% of his patients exhibit ‘soft’ neurological symptoms, which he
defined as symptoms in which the physician is ‘struck more by the description
than by the exam.’ ” Ostrom reported, “Hard neurological dysfunction affected
5-10% of his patients.” And she noted, “Hard neurological symptoms include
seizures, encephalitis, loss of muscular coordination, and weakness on one side
of the body.”
The amazing thing about Cheney’s
work, was that it always seemed to be a direct challenge to the “chronic
fatigue syndrome is not AIDS” paradigm that was quickly becoming the
epidemiological law of the land. But Cheney never played the role—at least not
directly or loudly—of the boy in “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” The neurological
symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome, which Cheney thought were caused by “the
elevated levels of gamma interferon, an immune system regulator” should have
been a red flag about the connection between AIDS and chronic fatigue syndrome
but it was just the beginning of the stubborn and catastrophic denial that
would engender unimaginable suffering and cost countless lives.
