We had a very interesting visit with Brewer a couple of weeks ago. There were three of us with consecutive appointments at the end of the day, so we spent quite a bit of time with him.
The fact that Ampho B is an effective treatment is now a forgone conclusion. Although I did not ask him this specifically, it does not sound like a significant number of patients have achieved a full recovery or a nearly full recovery, at least so far. It does sound like many patients have very substantial recoveries, maybe something in the 60 to 80% range, but keep in mind this is my own impression, and not something he stated specifically.
We all know that CFS patients have immune systems that are either under active or over active or some combination of both. Reduced natural killer cell function is very well documented. Brewer stated during our meeting that many of his CFS patients also have diagnosed autoimmune disorders . The looming question is whether the immune system can normalize after mold colonization is controlled and mycotoxin output is minimized. He stated this is a complete unknown. He feels that recovery of a suppressed immune system seems more likely than a calming down of an overreactive immune system, but either is possible.
When he mentioned this to me, I thought of the Rituximab study and asked if he thought this medication is effective in some patients because it calms down an overreactive immune system . He said that he be lived so. Now I can see how neatly this fits together: A patient is exposed to mold. The patient develops mold colonization. This colonization produces mycotoxins. The mycotoxins throw the immune system out of balance causing either a suppressed immune system or autoimmune disease. In autoimmune patients, Rituximab apparently suppresses the overactive immune system and the patient feels better. It would seem that if the body is still producing mycotoxins, the effect would be temporary. It might be the case that Rituximab could be permanently effective if the mycotoxins are first controlled or eliminated.
Brewer is now keenly interested natural killer cell function. Many of his patients (me included), are documented to have low to extremely low NK cell function. He has uncovered research showing that ochhratoxin A is highly suppressive of NK cell function and that tricothecenes are suppressive of NK cell function to a lesser extent. He is interesting in retesting his patients over time to see whether NK cell function will eventually recover.
Brewer is now looking beyond Ampho B treatment, and is contemplating several possible preliminary research studies. One study would involve documenting the effect of natural killer cell function post treatment. The effectiveness of atomized Nystantin is another possible study.
Brewer also mentioned a third possible study on the effect of near infrared sauna on the release of mycotoxins from the body. It sounds like a study might come together in the upcoming months. He is now squarely of the opinion that this is far and away the best method for mycotoxin elimination. Generally he and other physicians have been seeing mycotoxin elimination increase anywhere from a minimum of 2 to 3 times higher up to 10 times higher or more after the use of infrared sauna. He recommends patient do the sauna every day they can, with daily saunas being ideal. He likes to see patients spend about 30 minutes in the sauna at a temperature of about 120 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. He feels the only realistic way to do this consistently is with an in home sauna. (I should mention I recently found plans for an inexpensive home built infrared sauna which I can track down and forward to anyone who is interested.)
Brewer has also indicated there is some anecdotal evidence that hyperbaric oxygen treatment might be an effective method of detoxing mycotoxins. It might seem impractical and cost prohibitive, but could be a worthwhile method if it can be used to eliminate mycotoxins at a highly accelerated rate.
I know there is now a second lab that is offering mycotoxtin testing. I don't know if it is the real deal or not. I did ask Brewer about the legitimacy of RTL. He stated that RTL's mycotoxin testing has undergone "extensive validation" but he did not elaborate in any detail and I didn't ask him to.
Brewer anticipates RTL will soon offer gliotoxin testing. It is appearing more and more that aflotoxin is not playing a significant role with his patients and that gliotoxin testing is more important.
Brewer has indicated a desire to publish as much as possible in the future which will hopefully lead to more research and larger studies.
