I want to tell you briefly about a pioneer in the treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). You may be surprised that this article is not about an 'alternative medicine' treatment, but is, in fact, an alternative approach to (and more successful than) the 'standard of care' that so often ties the hands of western medical practitioners.

Dr. Jay Goldstein, founder of the CFS Institute in Orange County, California, is an M.D. with a background in pharmacology. The Institute originally a combination of drugs, acupuncture, and cognitive behavioral therapy. However, Dr. Goldstein's drug cominations were so effective that the other practitioners were unable to compete.

Perhaps Dr. Goldstein's treatments are so effective because his neurobiological readings and research are so extensive. Equally important is the idea that CFS, whatever its cause, is the manifestation of a brain dysfunction. This dysfunction can be due to genetic susceptibility, childhood developmental stress, viral or bacterial infection, and the combination of these factors overwhelming the brain's ability to adapt.

Many patients travel thousands of miles to see Dr. Goldstein because nothing else has worked. His success rate is quite high. He is a pioneer who has bucked the medical status-quo to the point of having his license threatened. As research and treatment confirm his approach, he is seen more and more as the father of the most successful treatment yet for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Update October 21, 2004: Dr. Jay Goldstein retired from practice about a year ago, mainly due to the hassle factor of being continually sued. Not because he did anything wrong, but because he took on the inherent risk of treating people who may never get better.

It's a shame that people are so base in nature that they would blame him if he didn't cure their incurable disease. Unfortunately, the gratitude of those he did help couldn't outweight the emotional and financial toll taken on him by those he couldn't help.

Despair not, though, Dr. Goldstein was a pioneer, the father of the neuropsychiatric treatment of CFS, and more doctors are following in his footsteps... frequently, articles are published in journals like Pain that echo what he said and did a decade ago.