The late Rich Van Konynenburg, a physicist, developed a theory of some of the dysfunctions in ME/CFS in which he proposed that a block in the methylation cycle in the body’s cells lead to depletion of glutathione, an important antioxidant. He proposed a treatment protocol to address the problem, and wrote a number of articles about the research, listed below.
- Is Glutathione Depletion an Important Part of the Pathogenesis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? (2004) Rich’s original paper in which he describes why he believed glutathione depletion plays a central role in ME/CFS (largely superseded by the 2007 IACFS/ME Conference paper)
- Glutathione Depletion-Methylation Cycle Block: A Hypothesis For the Pathogenesis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (2007) This paper was presented at the 2007 IACFS/ME Conference
- Glutathione Depletion in Autism and the Spin-off for CFS (2005) An article compiled by Cort Johnson from several posts Rich made on CFSResearch and CFSExperimental in April, 2005, with Rich’s kind permission to re-organize and post them
- A Simplified Treatment Approach Based on the Glutathione Depletion-Methylation Cycle Block Pathogenesis Hypothesis for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) Part I: Theory and History (July 2007) An account of how the hypothesis came about, what it is, why the Yasko-Autism connection fit, and why Rich believed it pertained to ME/CFS
- Why is the Prevalence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Higher in Women Than in Men? (2007) An examination of how the glutathione/methylation hypothesis relates to the higher prevalence of ME/CFS in women
- A Simple Explanation of the Glutathione/Methylation Depletion Theory of ME/CFS (Dec 2008) A simpler, step-by-step explanation of Rich’s theory
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Autism (date unknown) An exploration of the possible connections between CFS and autism
- Methylation and Glutathione, Keys to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (2008) Rich’s Powerpoint presentation to the 2008 Orthomolecular Health Medicine Society