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Maes clinic in the Netherlands

Spring

Senior Member
Messages
133
Location
Netherlands
I don't saw a topic on this yet, but if there is, I appologize.

In september a clinic will be openend in Roosendaal, the Netherlands. It is called 'International psycho-neuro-immune reference center'.

It is not owned by Maes but he is Medical Director and will work there several weeks a year and all doctors and therapists at the center should work like he is.
There is not much information out there yet, but more is coming. They dont have a website yet, but in a few days or weeks they should have. For now we are getting news throught their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/International-PNI-Reference-Center/262934557148334

This week was announced Dr. Uytersprotte, a Belgium neuropsychiater, is going to work there too. She is one of the doctors who got to pay a lot of money back to Belguim insurances for giving CFS patients immunoglobulines.

The center is not only for ME. Maes makes a difference in ME, CF and CFS as we saw in one of his last publications. But people with depression, obesity and other conditions are also welcome. Treatment will be based on testresults and thus be individual.

You can be puzzeld by the naming, beginning with 'psycho' but that applies not to all conditions being treated. ME is seen as only 'neuro-immune' as I understand correctly from the page. The Facebookpage is partly Dutch but there are also English parts.

There are a lot of questions about the center and I hope to get answeres soon. They seem to have big plans if you read the text below, but we will have to wait and see because they havent even started yet.
I think foreign patients are welcome too.

From Facebook:

IPNIR: International PNI Reference Center
Better detection and better treatment of PNI disorders.

If you suffer from fatigue, anergy, insomnia, muscle pain, negative thoughts about the future, nervousness, stress, intestinal problems including diarrhea, constipation or bloating, then you should attend our clinic …..

Mission.
We are an exclusive and leading clinic for the assessment and treatment of PNI disorders.
We offer a better detection of PNI disorders with a state-of-the-art clinical assessment program and a biological assessment program.
We have developed new methodologies to assess the causes and precipitating factors that play a role in the development of PNI disorders.
Based on these newly developed assessments we are at the cutting edge of novel treatment programs for these PNI disorders.
We attract patients with PNI disorders from Belgium, the Netherlands, the rest of Europe and other continents as well.

Strategies.
If you suffer from fatigue, anergy, insomnia, muscle pain, sadness, negative thoughts about the future, nervousness, stress, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems including diarrhea, constipation or bloating, then you should attend our IPNIR clinic.

We offer a diagnostic program to assess these disorders by means of clinical and biological assessments and we provide a treatment plan which considers short-term as well as long-term treatment modalities.
We are at the cutting edge of new diagnostic assessments based on clinical factors, the clinical assessment program. The clinical assessment considers specialized interviews, rating scales, self-rated scales, etc. Based on these data we offer you a conventional diagnosis, chronic fatigue (ME/CFS or chronic fatigue in general), depression, fibromyalgia, anxiety disorders, and irritable bowel syndrome. Moreover, based on a systemic more functional approach considering the effects of diet, life style, exercise, personal and familial history, the patients’ environment, etc., we are able to offer you a more comprehensive diagnosis rather that the conventional diagnosis according to a categorical classification only.

In order to offer you state-of-the-art biological diagnosis we have developed a biological assessment program which considers the biological disorders (pathophysiology) that cause the disease and biological precipitating factors that trigger the disease. Our researchers have provided evidence that the biological disorders underpinning PNI disorders comprise inflammation, oxidative stress and deficiencies in antioxidants. It is also well known that psycholological stress, infections, immune disorders, etc may trigger PNI disorders.
Based on the above clinical and biological diagnosis we have state-of-the-art treatment strategies that can treat the abovementioned disorders by correcting the biological aberrations and the trigger factors as well. Toward this purpose we employ conventional medications (e.g. antidepressants), novel techniques (cranio-electro-stimulation), and specific antioxidants to treat inflammation and oxidative stress. All methods used are evidence-based, i.e. they have been proven by medical research.

Methods.
The clinical assessment and biological assessment programs are used to make the diagnosis and to determine the treatment strategy.
The clinical assessment consists of interviews, self-rating scales, ect. Interviews are carried out during the first and second day of admission. These data are then summarized by a senior physician into a conventional diagnosis and a more functional diagnosis based upon the patient and his interaction with the environment. We perform blood tests to measure immune function, oxidative stress, antioxidants, autoimmunity, neurotransmitter function, etc.

Once the assessments are completed the patient will meet with a physician. The patient will then be informed about
* whether he/she suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, fibromyalgia, anxiety disorders and irritable bowel syndrome or combinations thereof, which often occur; * the type and severity of these disorders; * which trigger factors may explain why the illness developed, e.g. psychological stress, infections, other medical disorders, etc. * what biological disorders may explain the illness, e.g. inflammation, hormonal disorders, deficiencies in vitamins or antioxidants, etc.
Based on the outcome of the assessments the physician will then discuss the treatment modalities. Phrased differently, based upon the assessments the treatment plan is made tailored to the patient. In general, the treatment aims to normalize the biological causes (pathophysiology), to eradicate the trigger factors (where possible) and to attenuate the symptoms (symptomatic treatment). The treatment modalities are diverse and multiple and most often combinations to obtain augmentation (synergy).

The specific programs

Affective Disorders
This program aims to bring your mood in a better balance, remove sadness, negative thoughts about the future and yourself, and to treat the insomnia and irritability you may suffer from. In medical terms the condition we treat in this program is called “depression”. Depression is a medical disorder caused by changes in your body and brain. These changes can de detected by using our blood tests and the can be found in inflammatory circuits and in biochemical structures in the brain.

There are many signs suggesting that you may be depressed. For example if you suffer from anorexia, weight loss and feel sad it may be that you suffer from depression. If you feel irritable, nervous and cannot sleep well, you may be depressed. Other characteristics are that you cannot enjoy anymore what's happening, your hobbies and work and interests drop off, you cannot concentrate well and your memory is slow, your energy levels are very low, and you are less able to tolerate pain.

Depression is a very common disorder: up to 15% of all people suffer from depression. Most important is that depression is treatable. Treatment depends on the type of depression and the biological disorders in your body. In order to start an adequate treatment, a diagnosis is needed. We can offer you a state-of-the art diagnosis based on clinical and advanced biological measurements. Doing so, we are able to tell you whether you suffer from depression and from which type of depression you suffer. We are able to detect the biological causes of depression. Is it a deficiency in serotonin, chronic inflammation, too much oxidative stress? Those assessments allow us to determine the most adequate treatment. There is no uniform treatment: all our treatments are individualized and tailored to the patient.

In this program we diagnose and treat different types of depression, like major depression, melancholic depression, treatment resistant depression, dysthymia, chronic depression and depression secondary to (auto)immune disorders, such as thyroid disorders, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disorder, etc. We also diagnoses treat patients with bipolar depression, that is patients who suffer from depressed episodes and from manic episodes.

2. Chronic fatigue, CFS and ME.
This program aims to treat CFS/ME. When you feel tired, if your energy has decreased, when you muscles are tired or painful after a mild exercise, when you concentration and memory have decreased you probably suffer a condition called chronic fatigue. CFS/ME is a medical disorder caused by changes in the body and brain. These alterations can de detected using our blood tests and comprise the following: a deficiency in the energy engines of our body (mitochondria); inflammation; oxidative stress and gut inflammation.
We also treat another type of fatigue, i.e. that occurs secondary to other medical illness, such as infections with viruses (EBV, CMV, HHV6) and bacteria (Chlamydia, Borrellia, Mycoplasma), (auto)immune disorders, like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, etc. The causes however of this type of fatigue are the same as explained above.

There are many signs suggesting that you may suffer from chronic fatigue. Obligatory to this diagnosis is the presence of fatigue for more than 6 months. Other symptoms that occur very common are: muscle tension, aches, muscle aches, joint pains, insomnia, malaise (as you have the flu), irritability, irritable bowel syndrome (bloating), concentration and memory disorder, headache.

Chronic fatigue is a very common disorder: up to 10% of all people either Caucasians or Asian people suffer from fatigue. Most important is that fatigue is treatable in an earlier stage of the illness; in a later stage however treatment becomes more difficult. Treatment of fatigue depends on the type of biological disorders in your body and brain. That is why our biological assessments are so important: it tells us what treatment strategy should be followed to treat the patient. We can offer you a state-of-the art diagnosis based on the most advanced biological measurements. Is it chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, depleted energy in the cells (mitochondria), imbalance in your immune system, gut inflammation, or combinations thereoff.

3. Leaky gut .
This program aims to treat leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, an impaired transit (diarrhea or constipation) and bloating, intestinal cramps, etc. These symptoms are quite common (more that 30% of the population). While “common wisdom” ascribes these abdominal symptoms to stress, those symptoms are more likely to be caused by biological factors, like lactose (milk sugar) intolerance, fructose (fruit sugar) intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut, gut dysbiosis, small intestine bacterial overgrowth, gluten intolerance and coeliackie, type IV food allergies, type I food allergies, etc. To complicate matters, there a strong overlap between all above diagnoses. For example, food intolerances can gut dysbiosis and leaky gut, which may all (alone or together) induce irritable bowel syndrome. This program also treats gut dysbiosis and leaky gut that are secondary to inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease and colitis ulcerosa.

These conditions can generate many symptoms such as cramps, diarrhea and bloating which often are invalidating. Even more, these conditions can cause an inflammation in the blood and even profound inflammation or autoimmune disorders. For example, a small intestine bacterial overgrowth and gut inflammation may induce leaky gut which in turn may cause frank inflammation in the blood and even neurological disorders. Although these conditions are very frequent they remain unrecognized in many cases. For example, the incidence of lactose intolerance is a high as 60-98%, whereas the incidence of fructose intolerance is 15-30%. Although many patients suffer from irritable bowel syndrome due to the lactose and fructose intolerance, these conditions are not tested in the patients. Although leaky gut can result in a dangerous situation most treating physicians do not examine the presence of leaky gut by means of a simple blood analysis. It should be pointed out, however, that these conditions most often remain unrecognized by physicians, while the diagnostic and treatment modalities are very simple. We would recommend that everyone who suffers from the abovementioned symptoms be examined with our state-of-the-art tests.
 
Messages
15,786
I'm not sure this will be particularly useful. The PNI theory looks like it's based on the assumption that psychological problems and stress cause immune and other physical dysfunction. Which sounds like a polite way to say "psychosomatization" to me.
 

Marlène

Senior Member
Messages
443
Location
Edegem, Belgium
@ valentijn

Dr Maes is one of the only psychiatrists I know in Europe who does research and admits ME is caused by inflammation, oxidative stress, viral activation ...
The causes can be multiple as explained above. Stress won't do any good to a ME-body as we all know.
 

Firestormm

Senior Member
Messages
5,055
Location
Cornwall England
Methods.
The clinical assessment and biological assessment programs are used to make the diagnosis and to determine the treatment strategy.
The clinical assessment consists of interviews, self-rating scales, ect. Interviews are carried out during the first and second day of admission. These data are then summarized by a senior physician into a conventional diagnosis and a more functional diagnosis based upon the patient and his interaction with the environment. We perform blood tests to measure immune function, oxidative stress, antioxidants, autoimmunity, neurotransmitter function, etc.

Once the assessments are completed the patient will meet with a physician. The patient will then be informed about
* whether he/she suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, fibromyalgia, anxiety disorders and irritable bowel syndrome or combinations thereof, which often occur; * the type and severity of these disorders; * which trigger factors may explain why the illness developed, e.g. psychological stress, infections, other medical disorders, etc. * what biological disorders may explain the illness, e.g. inflammation, hormonal disorders, deficiencies in vitamins or antioxidants, etc.
Based on the outcome of the assessments the physician will then discuss the treatment modalities. Phrased differently, based upon the assessments the treatment plan is made tailored to the patient. In general, the treatment aims to normalize the biological causes (pathophysiology), to eradicate the trigger factors (where possible) and to attenuate the symptoms (symptomatic treatment). The treatment modalities are diverse and multiple and most often combinations to obtain augmentation (synergy).

Perhaps when more specific details are made available we might better determine how this will all work in practice. I'm afraid I could not understand the site so I appreciate this English translation.

2. Chronic fatigue, CFS and ME.
This program aims to treat CFS/ME. When you feel tired, if your energy has decreased, when you muscles are tired or painful after a mild exercise, when you concentration and memory have decreased you probably suffer a condition called chronic fatigue. CFS/ME is a medical disorder caused by changes in the body and brain.

These alterations can de detected using our blood tests and comprise the following: a deficiency in the energy engines of our body (mitochondria); inflammation; oxidative stress and gut inflammation.

We also treat another type of fatigue, i.e. that occurs secondary to other medical illness, such as infections with viruses (EBV, CMV, HHV6) and bacteria (Chlamydia, Borrellia, Mycoplasma), (auto)immune disorders, like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, etc. The causes however of this type of fatigue are the same as explained above.

There are many signs suggesting that you may suffer from chronic fatigue. Obligatory to this diagnosis is the presence of fatigue for more than 6 months. Other symptoms that occur very common are: muscle tension, aches, muscle aches, joint pains, insomnia, malaise (as you have the flu), irritability, irritable bowel syndrome (bloating), concentration and memory disorder, headache.

Chronic fatigue is a very common disorder: up to 10% of all people either Caucasians or Asian people suffer from fatigue. Most important is that fatigue is treatable in an earlier stage of the illness; in a later stage however treatment becomes more difficult.

Treatment of fatigue depends on the type of biological disorders in your body and brain. That is why our biological assessments are so important: it tells us what treatment strategy should be followed to treat the patient.

We can offer you a state-of-the art diagnosis based on the most advanced biological measurements. Is it chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, depleted energy in the cells (mitochondria), imbalance in your immune system, gut inflammation, or combinations thereoff.

I am afraid this doesn't fill me with confidence. But it could be early days I suppose. It doesn't infer any real understanding of anything other than 'fatigue' and 'chronic inflammation' means what exactly?

Again, perhaps once more is known - including pricing structure - we can make some assessments here. Other opinions I have read haven't done anything to endorse this new clinic.

Have to wait and see I suppose.
 
Messages
15,786
Seems like in Europe they abbreviate his name DML, and other places KDM.

A lot of Dutch nouns are formed by cramming multiple words together. They're written as one word, but recognized (and apparently abbreviated) as being multiple words. The same thing happens with the name "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". In Dutch it will be "chronische vermoeidheidsyndroom" or even "chronischevermoeidheidsyndroom" but will still get abbreviated as CVS.

So maybe something similar can happen with last names too, in which case the "L" on the end is important.
 

Marlène

Senior Member
Messages
443
Location
Edegem, Belgium
The Netherlands are well-known for being firmly in the psychobabbler school.....

It is also a place where belgian doctors like Pr Maes, Dr Uyttersprot, and I guess some other people seem to have found a safe harbour after being chased by the belgian system.