Why? Why not - what have you got to lose? Are you being successfully
treated now? Are you getting better? Many people may find that they can be
treated if they test positive. And this test is free.
Blessings
Shan
VCS Visual Contrast Sensitivity Test Center
http://www.chronicneurotoxins.com/

Did you know? Chronic headaches are yet another indicator of neurotoxin
poisoning.

Purpose of This Website
This website provides information on chronic human illness caused by exposure
to toxins produced by living organisms (biotoxins). Many biotoxins are
neurotoxins in that they adversely affect neurologic function. Registered users
will
be able to complete questionnaires on exposure history, medical history and
current symptoms. Users can also take a vision screening test that helps
determine whether or not their health problems are likely to be caused by
biotoxins.
Deficits on the vision test, visual contrast sensitivity, have been
associated with chronic illness caused by biotoxin exposure (1-8). If the data
suggest
biotoxin-induced illness, users can obtain a treatment protocol that has been
used to successfully treat many people. This paradigm for diagnosing and
treating chronic, biotoxin-mediated illness is based on research by Ritchie C.
Shoemaker, MD, and H. Kenneth Hudnell, PhD, and on the clinical experiences of
Dr.
Shoemaker (1-8).

Organisms that Produce Biotoxins
Many types of organisms produce substances that are toxic to humans. These
include dinoflagellates found in estuaries and the ocean, cyanobacteria
(blue-green algae) found in fresh water, fungi (mold) found in indoor air and
outdoors, and some types of bacteria. Our initial research on acute and chronic,
biotoxin-induced illness associated a complex of non-specific symptoms and
deficits
in visual contrast sensitivity with exposure to estuaries inhabited by the
fish-killing dinoflagellate, Pfiesteria piscicida, and other toxic
dinoflagellates in the toxic Pfiesteria complex (1-8). Treatment for this
illness, called
Possible Estuary Associated Syndrome (PEAS) by the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC; 9), according to our protocol was associated with
recovery of vision and resolution of symptoms. Subsequent research indicated
that
this paradigm generalizes to chronic illness thought to be caused by toxins
from a marine dinoflagellate, Ciguatera (Chronic Ciguatera Seafood Poisoning),
cyanobacteria such as Cylindrospermopsis and Microcystis, various species of
fungi such as Stachybotrys, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium, and by
spiders such as the Brown Recluse. Our research also suggested that toxins from
tick-borne pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease organism) and
Babesia microti may cause chronic illness even after the spirochetes or
intracellular protozoa (also called apicomplexans) have been killed by
antibiotics.
People who cannot naturally eliminate biotoxins develop chronic illness. The
toxins can be eliminated, however, by using our treatment protocol, and good
health can be restored.

Previous Diagnoses
Chronically ill patients successfully treated by Dr. Shoemaker and others
using our treatment protocol had many previous diagnoses, including Depression,
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Multiple
Sclerosis, Sick Building Syndrome, Bell's Palsy, learning disability,
endometriosis, sensory-neural deafness, low vision, Chronic Soft Tissue Injury
(usually
from an automobile accident) and Post-Lyme Disease . The diagnosing physicians
did not realize that their illness was caused by biotoxins. Some other
diagnoses were thought to involve biotoxins, including Chronic Ciguatera Seafood
Poison, Possible Estuary Associated Syndrome (PEAS) , spider bite and
Mycotoxicosis
, but there was no objective indicator like the vision test to assist in
diagnosis, and no treatment like cholestyramine (CSM) to greatly enhance toxin
elimination rates. We have also successfully treated people with the rare
genetic
disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. This is a condition in which
toxins are produced within the body, causing chronic illness.

How We Can Help You
Standard medical diagnostic tests are usually normal in patients who have
these biotoxin-induced illnesses, which makes it difficult to diagnose and
treat.
We have a simple tool that assists in diagnosis by showing evidence of a
neurological deficit. That screening tool is the visual contrast sensitivity
test
(VCS). A positive VCS test, in the presence of biotoxin exposure potential,
and a symptom complex involving multiple systems, and in the absence of other
historical, medical or treatment conditions that likely explain the symptoms,
provide a basis for making a diagnosis of Probable Biotoxin-Mediated Illness.
Users of this website can take a screening version of the VCS test and complete
questionnaires on exposure potential, symptoms and medical history. When
biotoxins are suspected, users can purchase a package that includes the
treatment
protocol and three additional vision tests that can be used to monitor recovery
during treatment. Patients can request treatment by taking the protocol and
the associated research articles to their local physician or to Dr. Shoemaker.

How the VCS Test Works
The visual system includes a complex neurological network that involves the
retina, optic nerve, brain nuclei and the visual cortex. One of the main
outputs of the visual system is pattern vision. The VCS tests is an indicator of
ability to detect visual patterns. The test measures the least amount of
contrast
between light and dark bars (sinusoidal grating) that is needed for the
viewer to detect the bars. VCS is measured at five different bar sizes (spatial
frequencies) because perception of different bar sizes is mediated by different
physiological components, and these components are differentially susceptible
to effects from different toxic substances (10-17). The largest effects of
biotoxins are at the mid-size bars (1-8). To measure VCS, viewers are presented
a
series of bar patterns at each of the five bar sizes. Viewers respond by
indicating that the bars are tilted to the left, tilted to the right, are
straight
up and down, or that they cannot see any bars. The pattern with the lowest
contrast that is correctly identified is the measure of VCS for that bar size.
Upon completing the VCS test, viewers receive a message indicating that
biotoxins are (positive) or are not (negative) likely to be involved in their
illness.
The criteria for getting a "positive" VCS result is set high to avoid false
positive results. This occasionally results in a false negative result; some
cases of chronic-biotoxin induced illness may pass the VCS test a some times.
VCS can be measured during treatment to monitor recovery.

To Learn Much More, Please Register (at NO COST)

Disclaimer
No guarantees for a cure for any disease are implicitly or explicitly given
to anyone. No single vision test can fully describe function of the visual
system or conclusively indicate the presence or absence of neurotoxins or
neurotoxicity. Diagnoses cannot be made and medications cannot be prescribed
without
seeing a physician in person.



500 Market Street
Pocomoke City, MD 21851
info@chronicneurotoxins

Privacy Policy | © 2004 ChronicNeurotoxins, Inc.

Prior to launching a new version of this website in June, 2002, the earlier
version had been online for about a year and a half. Over 3,600 registered
users had taken the preliminary and VCS tests. About half of the test results
were
positive for potential chronic, neurotoxin-induced illness. We do not know
exactly how many of those used our treatment protocol with their local
physician, or the outcome for all that did. We do know, however, that many used
the
protocol with success, and that many others were successfully treated by Dr.
Shoemaker or one of the physicians in our network.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]