CIRS Evidence-Base
It can be frustrating to feel you must educated your support people and/or medical providers on Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)…especially when these people parrot tropes like there is no good evidence for CIRS itself. Trained in psychiatry, I will readily admit there are many “disease processes” lacking objective evidence, but CIRS is not one of them. I enjoy having a list of the peer-reviewed, reproducible journal articles as well as consensus statements to share. I invite and encourage the person to educate themselves. Once they have done so, I will happy to engage in a conversation about my particular lived-experience with CIRS. I also invite loved ones to attend medical appointments where a CIRS savvy Shoemaker certified medical professional can answer their questions. It is not your job to educate others nor should you spend your very limited energy justifying the steps you are taking to heal. Feel free to pass along this growing list of CIRS literature. Dr. Shoemaker has never cared about feelings when it comes to CIRS treatment. He wants the facts. Here are the facts-
List of Research Group Peer-reviewed/Published Articles
1) Shoemaker R. Diagnosis of Pfiesteria-human illness syndrome. Maryland Medical Journal 1997; 521-523.
2) Shoemaker R. Treatment of persistent Pfiesteria-human illness syndrome. Maryland Medical Journal 1998; 47: 64-66.
3) Grattan L, Oldach D, Perl T, Lowitt M, Matuszak D, Dickson C, Parrott C, Shoemaker R, Kauffman L, Wasserman M, Hebel R, Charache P, Morris G. Learning and memory difficulties after environmental exposure to waterways containing toxin-producing Pfiesteria or Pfiesteria-like dinoflagellates. The Lancet 1998; 352: 532-539.
4) Shoemaker R, Hudnell K. Possible Estuary-Associated Syndrome: Symptoms, vision, and treatment. Environmental Health Perspectives 2001; 109: 539-545.
5) Shoemaker R. Residential and recreational acquisition of possible estuary-associated syndrome: A new approach to successful diagnosis and treatment. Environmental Health Perspectives 2001; 109: 791-796.
6) Shoemaker, R. 2002, “Differential Association of HLA DR genotypes with chronic, neurotoxin mediated illness: Possible genetic basis for susceptibility”, American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; 67(2):160.
7) Shoemaker R, House DE. A time-series study of sick building syndrome: chronic, biotoxin-associated illness from exposure to water-damaged buildings. Neurotoxicology and Teratology 2005;27:29-46.
9) Shoemaker RC, Rash JM, Simon EW. Sick Building syndrome in water damaged buildings: generalization of the chronic biotoxin associated illness paradigm to indoor toxigenic fungi. Bioaerosols, fungi, bacteria, mycotoxins and human health. Dr med Eckardt Johanning MD editor 2006.
10) Shoemaker R, Hudnell, House D, Kempen A, Pakes G. Atovaquone plus cholestyramine in patients coinfected with Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi refractory to other treatment. Advances in Therapy 2006; 23: 1-11.
11) Shoemaker R, Lipsey R. Results of health screening and visual contrast testing. St. Bernard’s Parish, Louisiana. 2006. published on-line
12) Shoemaker R, Lawson W. Pfiesteria in Estuarine Waters: The question of health risks. Environmental Health Perspectives 2007; 115: A2-A3.
13) Shoemaker R, Giclas P, Crowder C, House D. Complement split products C3a and C4a are early markers of acute Lyme disease in tick bite patients in the United States. International Archives of Allergy Immunol 2008; 146: 255-261.
15) Shoemaker R, House D. Characterization of chronic human illness associated with exposure to cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms predominated by Microcystis. 2009 Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms pg 653.
16) Shoemaker R, House D, Ryan J. Defining the neurotoxin derived illness chronic ciguatera using markers of chronic systemic inflammatory disturbances: A case/control study. Neurotoxicology and Teratology 2010; 633-639.
17) Shoemaker R, House D, Ryan J. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) corrects chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) acquired following exposure to water-damaged buildings. Health 2013;5(3):396-401.
18) Shoemaker R. House D, Ryan J. Structural brain abnormalities in patients with inflammatory illness acquired following exposure to water damaged buildings: A volumetric MRI study using Neuroquant®. Neurotoxicology Teratol 2014;45:18-26.
19) Ryan J. Wu Q. Shoemaker R. Transcriptomic Signatures in Whole Blood of Patients Who Acquire CIRS Following an Exposure to the Marine Toxin Ciguatoxin. August 8 2015.
20) McMahon SW, Shoemaker RC, and Ryan. Reduction in Forebrain Parenchymal and Cortical Grey Matter Swelling across Treatment Groups in Patients with Inflammatory Illness Acquired Following Exposure to Water-Damaged Buildings. J Neurosci Clin Res 1:1. April 12, 2016.
21) Ryan JC, Shoemaker RC. RNA-Seq on patients with chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) treated with vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) shows a shift in metabolic state and innate immune functions that coincide with healing. Medical Research Archives, Volume 4, Issue 7. November 2016.
22) McMahon, SW. An Evaluation of Alternate Means to Diagnose Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and Determine Prevalence. Medical Research Archives, 2017;5(3):1-18.
23) Shoemaker RC, Katz D, Ackerley M, Rapaport S, McMahon SW, Berndston K, Ryan JC. Intranasal VIP safely restores volume to multiple grey matter nuclei in patients with CIRS. Internal Medicine Review. 2017;1-14.
24) McMahon SW, Kundomal KA, Yangalasetty S. Pediatrics Norms for Visual Contrast Sensitivity Using an APT VCS Tester. Medical Research Archives 2017;5(5):1-9.
25) Shoemaker RC, Johnson K, Jim L, Berry Y, Dooley M, Ryan J, McMahon SW. Diagnostic Process for Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS): A Consensus Statement Report of the Consensus Committee of Surviving Mold. Internal Medicine Review, 2018;5(4):1-47.
26) Shoemaker RC. Urinary mycotoxins: A review of contaminated buildings and food in search of a biomarker separating sick patients from controls. Internal Medicine Review. 2019;5(6):1-35.
27) Dooley M, McMahon SW. A comprehensive review of mold research literature from 2011 – 2018. Internal Medicine Review. 2020;3(1):1-39.
28) Shoemaker RC, Metabolism, molecular hypometabolism and inflammation: Complications of proliferative physiology include metabolic acidosis, pulmonary hypertension, Treg cell deficiency, insulin resistance and neuronal injury. Trends in Diabetes and Metabolism. 2020;3:1-15.
29) Shoemaker R, Neil V, Heyman A, van der Westhuizen, McMahon S, Lark D. Newer molecular methods bring new insights into human- and building-health risk assessments from water-damaged buildings: defining exposure and reactivity, the two sides of causation of CIRS-WDB illness. Medical Research Archives. 2021;9(3):1-36.
30) Shoemaker R, McMahon S, Heyman A, Lark D, van der Westhuizen M. Treatable metabolic and inflammatory abnormalities in post COVID syndrome (PCS) define the transcriptomic basis for persistent symptoms: Lessons from CIRS. Medical Research Archives. 2021;9(7):1-18.
31) Shoemaker R, Ryan J. Exposure to Actinobacteria resident in water-damaged buildings and resultant immune injury in Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. Medical Research Archives. 2021;9(10). ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/2585>. Date accessed: 28 jan. 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v9i10.2585.
Consensus Statements
1) Policy Holders of America: Research Committee Report on Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome Caused by Exposure to the Interior Environment of Water-Damaged Buildings (2010)
2) Medically sound investigation and remediation of water-damaged buildings in cases of chronic inflammatory response syndrome. Berndtson K, McMahon S, Ackerley M, Rapaport S, Gupta S, Shoemaker R. January 19, 2016.
3) Indoor Environmental Professionals Panel of Surviving Mold CONSENSUS STATEMENT Medically sound investigation and remediation of water-damaged Buildings in cases of CIRS-WDB. Larry Schwartz CIEC, BSME, MBA, Greg Weatherman CMC, Michael Schrantz CIEC, CMI, BPI-BA/EP, Will Spates CIAQP, CIEC, Jeff Charlton, ACIEC, AACIEH, Keith Berndtson MD, Ritchie Shoemaker MD April 12, 2016.
4) Shoemaker RC, Johnson K, Jim L, Berry Y, Dooley M, Ryan J, McMahon SW. Diagnostic Process for Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS): A Consensus Statement Report of the Consensus Committee of Surviving Mold. Internal Medicine Review, 2018;5(4):1-47.
You can read about CIRS Shoemaker Protocol starting from the beginning at Step #1 here.
You can read more about my journey as a medical provider hellbent on healing her own erythromelalgia here.
Read about healing my chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) and how that connects to EM here.
Interested in receiving my blogs in your inbox? Simply click here connect@untamediona.com to shoot me an email and be added to the mailing list.
Think we may be a good fit for your needs? You’ve explored my offerings but still have a few burning questions specific to the one and only Y-O-U… Book a 15-minute connection call tax to explore your concerns. Let’s find ways forward together!
