Early researchers Koch and Pasteur (O'Shea, 2000) brought bacteria to the forefront of medicine. However, it was the microbiologists Nocard and Roux at the Pasteur Institute in 1898 that first isolated a pathogenic bacteria from cattle that suffered from arthritis and pneumonia (Answers.com, 2005). The discovery of a similar organism from humans occurred in 1932 by Dienes. For the next 65 years these new isolates were referred to as Pleuropneumonia-Like Organisms (PPLO). While working at the Rockefeller Institute, Brown reported isolation of a PPLO from human arthritic joint tissue in 1938. In 1949, Diennes reported to the 7th International Rheumatology Congress the isolation of PPLO from the genitourinary tracts of men afflicted with arthritis. In discussing the significance of this observation, Brown reported successful treatment of arthritic patients in 1949 with a new antibiotic called aureomycin ( Clark, 1997).

In 1962, a viral-like agent causing atypical or 'walking' pneumonia but sensitive to antibiotics was found to be a new human mycoplasma strain (M. pneumoniae). Also, in 1964 the results of National Institute for Health funded research reported mycoplasma antibodies in most of those with rheumatic arthritis ( Clark, 1997).

Since these early studies, there has been growing awareness that many chronic illnesses may have an infectious nature due to a mycoplasma organism that is either responsible for the illness, a cofactor for the illness or appears as an opportunistic infection that is responsible for aggravating illness. Later researchers of mycoplasma found it to be pathogenic in a variety of illnesses (Lo, et al. 1989; Lo, 1993; Baseman and Tully, 1997).

In the past few years, an increasing number of people worldwide have been diagnosed with a chronic mycoplasma infection. Researchers have been particularly interested in the fact that mycoplasma has been found in the blood of those diagnosed with the following illnesses: GWS (Nicolson & Nicolson, 1995; Nicolson & Nicolson, 1996); CFS, FMS (Nicolson, Nasralla, Haier, & Nicolson, 1998); and RA (Haier, Nasralla, Franco & Nicolson, 1999). Baseman and Tully (1997) reported that mycoplasmal infection can cause most of the signs and symptoms found in those diagnosed with CFS, FMS, and/or RA. This does not necessarily mean that these diseases are entirely caused by mycoplasmal infections, but this type of infection is important in causing much of the illness seen in people with these chronic illnesses (Vojdani & Franco, 1999).

The progress toward discovering the role of mycoplasma in GWS, CFS, FMS and RA was not advanced until early in the 1990's, when the daughter of noted molecular biologists Garth and Nancy Nicolson became ill after returning from the Gulf War. Studies revealed a mycoplasma pathogen in her blood. In order to find this organism, the biologists had to break open her leukocytes (white blood cells), and perform a specific test called a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) of the DNA of the organism. The Nicolsons also perfected another test, called gene tracking, which confirms the PCR results (Nicolson & Nicolson, 1994). To gather more information, they tested others with GWS and found approximately 50% were positive for the live organism. The Nicolson’s then researched treatment options and found a number of antibiotics that were effective against the organism (Nicolson, 1996). After a lengthy course of antibiotics, their daughter recovered. Requests for testing of GWS victims poured into their lab. As evidence mounted, they published data (Nicolson & Nicolson, 1995) (Nicolson, Hyman, Korenyi-Both, Lopez, Nicolson, Rea & Urnovitz, 1995) (Nicolson & Nicolson, 1996) and testified before the President’s Panel on Gulf War Illnesses (Nicolson, & Nicolson, 1995).

The connection was eventually made by the government of the similarities between GWS and CFS (Schmidt & Blanck, 1995). By this time, the Nicolson’s lab was already running tests of those with CFS---with the same results-- approximately 50% positive! The Nicolson's even wrote an article for the CFIDS Chronicle outlining the diagnosis and treatment of GWS/CFS (Nicolson & Nicolson, 1996).

(Created 6/10/05 by Sharon Briggs)