From all the reading I have done in their Library of Information, they do still believe in some of the same basic principles as MP; however, for example, MP is now de-emphasizing antibiotics where IT still recommends their use.
That is interesting that Trevor Marshall now is de-emphasizing the use of antibiotics in the Marshall Protocol (MP).
Presumably Dr Marshall still upholds the need for
vitamin D avoidance and
sunlight avoidance, and of course the thrice daily use of the angiotensin II receptor blocker
Benicar (olmesartan), which is the drug fundamental to the Marshall Protocol.
I actually tried the Marshall Protocol myself for 3 months. I can't say that I experienced any improvement in ME/CFS symptoms over that time, though I did become quite sensitive to light while on the MP and taking Benicar (which is as expected), and needed to use sunglasses in bright light, as is normal when on the MP.
The basic theory of the MP is that human cells normally fight off intracellular infections (infections
within our cells) by means of the cells'
internal immune system, an immune system which can create
anti-microbial peptides inside the cell, to kill off microbes in there.
The on/off switch for the release of these anti-microbial peptides inside the cell is in fact the
vitamin D receptor (VDR), which is located on the nucleus of the cell. According to Dr Marshall, microbes, as a survival strategy, disable this VDR receptor on/off switch, which means the cell can no longer switch on the production of anti-microbial peptides to kill the intracellular microbes.
But Benicar is able to unblock and switch on the VDR receptor, which then causes the anti-microbial peptides to be once again released inside the cell, in theory then killing the microbes in the cell.
Dr Marshall thinks that ME/CFS, and many other conditions, are caused by intracellular bacteria that live within cells (L-form bacteria), and believes that his Marshall Protocol slowly kills off these intracellular bacteria via the anti-microbial peptides that are released.
It is certainly true that ME/CFS can sometimes be caused by intracellular bacteria, as we know Chlamydia pneumoniae infection can cause ME/CFS, and this is an intracellular bacterium.
However, Dr Marshall seems to ignore the evidence showing that viruses such enteroviruses and Herpesviridae are linked to ME/CFS.
Since enteroviruses in particular seem to form chronic intracellular infections in diseases like ME/CFS (comprising intracellular viral entities named
non-cytopathic enteroviruses), I actually wondered whether the anti-microbial peptides of the Marshall Protocol might be able to fight off these non-cytopathic enteroviruses.
However, from my investigations, it seems that these anti-microbial peptides are more effective against intracellular bacteria than they are against viruses.