Is CFS/ME An Immune Disorder?

June 14, 2012 / Charles W. Lapp, MD / Ask The Doctor

Bobby B wrote: “I often get conflicting answers to this question. Is CFS/ME/FM an autoimmune disease?”

A: Bobby, I don’t mean to conflict you further but the answer is “yes, and no.” Autoimmunity is certainly part of the CFS/ME/FM conundrum, but the disorder also affects the central nervous system, endocrine system, the muscles, and other areas.

Some of the first abnormalities noted in PWCs were immunological in origin, namely an increased incidence of autoantibodies, low immunoglobulins, poor NK cell activity, activated T-cells (CD8/CD38), up-regulation of the 2’5’ synthetase system, and excess cytokine production. (References: Landay; Barker; Caligiuri; Klimas; Herberman; Suhadolnik; De Meirleir; Patarca; Moss; Kerr.) As a result the majority of PWCs have anti-nuclear antibodies, and antibodies directed against thyroid and parietal cells are not uncommon. This led to the 1992 grassroots movement to rename CFS to CFIDS, or Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome.

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Dr. Hillman was born and reared in Utica, New York. He attended college at Clarkson University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering, and then spent two years toward a master’s degree in biochemistry/oncology at the University of Buffalo’s Roswell Park Division, where he did research in leukemia. Dr. Hillman attended St. George’s University School of Medicine, and completed his clinical years at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, graduating in 1996. During the Summer of 1994 he also did research at the University of Buffalo Dental School using PCR technology on RNA subtyping of gram negative oral bacteria. Following medical school, Hillman went on to a Family Practice Residency at North Shore / Long Island Jewish Hospital in Bay Shore, NY.

After his residency, Dr. Hillman worked for the US Army at the West Point Military Academy (Keller Army Hospital family practice unit), worked in the Emergency Room and hospital admitting areas, and ran a private practice as well. From 2005-2006 he also worked at the Winn Army Hospital at Fort Stewart, GA, before setting up a private Family Practice in Huntersville, NC in 2007. In addition to his private practice Dr. Hillman also has an interest in helping clients with disabilities. He has worked for ProMed Urgent Care in Occupational Medicine and performed over 13,000 examinations for Social Security Disability.

Dr. Hillman has a family member with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, so he has a long standing interest and empathy with the disorder! He is married and has two sons and a daughter. The family lives in Huntersville.