Released: 12/12/2011 10:45 AM EST
Source: Nova Southeastern University
Newswise =97 FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE Fla. =97 Nancy Klimas, M.D., one of the
world=92s leading researchers and clinicians in chronic fatigue
syndrome/myalgic encepahalomyelitis (CFS/ME), a debilitating immune
disorder that affects more than one million Americans, recently joined
Nova Southeastern University=92s College of Osteopathic Medicine faculty
in December.
A majority of CFS/ME sufferers are women, who remain mostly untreated.
The disease damages the patient=92s immune system and causes symptoms
such as extreme fatigue unabated by sleep, faintness, widespread
muscle and joint pain, sore throat, severe headaches, cognitive
difficulties, and severe mental and physical exhaustion
An expert in immune disorders, Klimas will establish the NSU College
of Osteopathic Medicine=92s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, which
will conduct cutting-edge research and treat patients suffering from
CFS/ME and Gulf War Illness (GWI). The Institute will be located at
NSU=92s main campus in Davie. In the meantime, patients can continue
receiving treatment at the existing Chronic Fatigue Center in Kendall,
Fla., where Klimas is the director.
The Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine will use the integration of
research, training, and clinical care to advance the needs of patients
suffering from CFS/ME and GWI. By bringing together some of the best
scientific minds in the world, the facility will act as both a think
tank and a working institute for the research, train new clinicians,
and provide diagnostic and therapeutic clinical care.
=93The Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, strategically placed at Nova
Southeastern University, will bring together great minds in the field
of neuro immune disorders under one umbrella,=94 Klimas said. =93It will
be a place to coordinate cutting edge thinking and research, train new
practitioners, and offer the highest quality clinical care for a
hugely underserved population. I am thrilled to partner with NSU in
this giant step forward in the field of CFS/ME care and research.=94
=93We are excited to have Dr. Klimas join our university,=94 said NSU
President George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D. =93She is an internationally
recognized authority on this debilitating disease as well as other
complex diseases and clinical immunology.=94
The Chronic Fatigue Center --- one of a few centers of its kind in the
nation ---- will become a part of the NSU clinical health care system
under the auspices of the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine.
Klimas is also the director of research for the Clinical AIDS/HIV
research program and Gulf War Illness research program at the Miami
Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
She is a leading national researcher on Gulf War Illness. This medical
condition affects veterans and civilians who were exposed to a number
of triggers, including chemical weapons during the 1991 Gulf War.
Symptoms include musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, skin rashes, cognitive
problems, and diarrhea.
=93Klimas will elevate NSU=92s medical research to a new level and create
opportunities for internal and external collaboration on global basis
to find cures for CFS/ME and other complex diseases,=94 said Gary
Margules, Sc.D., NSU=92s vice president of NSU=92s research and technology
transfer.
CFS/ME symptoms typically last for more than six months, often
decades. Those suffering from the disease find their lives
dramatically altered to the extent that working and completing simple
tasks become difficult or impossible.
Klimas currently serves as a senior member of the Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome Advisory Committee, a role in which she provides advice and
recommendations to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
Kathleen Sebelius. She has served two terms as president of the
International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and sits on
numerous boards and advisory groups.
She has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles, 18 book
chapters, and three books. Many focus on CFS/ME, which has no cure and
affects 17 million people worldwide. Her research has not only
influenced health policy in the U.S., but also in Europe, Japan,
Australia, and Canada.
Klimas, who is joining NSU from the University of Miami (UM), was the
principal investigator of the National Institutes of Health=92s Center
for Multidisciplinary Studies of CFS Pathophysiology at UM, and is
currently funded to use genomics to better understand the cause of
persistent illness in both CFS/ME and GWI. She plans to expand this
work through the new NSU Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine.
For more information, patients can call 954-262-2850.
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