Monmouth Medical Center and the New Jersey CFA

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Hospital to offer Chronic Fatigue Syndrome program in Eatontown
Doctors to talk research, treatment

October 13, 2009
Monmouth Medical Center's annual Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Conference, scheduled for Sunday, will spotlight developments in research and trends in clinical management of this condition that affects more than 1 million adults and children.

Co-sponsored by Monmouth Medical Center and the New Jersey Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Association, the conference will run from 11:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the Sheraton Conference Center.

A panel of experts will provide physicians, health-care providers and patients and their families with information on research, treatment and coping strategies for the illness, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Kenneth Friedman, an associate professor of pharmacology and physiology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, will open the program. The panel will be moderated by pediatric endocrinologist Malcolm Schwartz, who diagnoses and treats patients with the syndrome.

Derek Enlander, a physician in private practice in Manhattan who became interested in the syndrome when it was virtually unknown, today specializes in treating patients with the syndrome and the closely related condition known as fibromyalgia, which is characterized by widespread muscle pain and stiffness.

Social Security and long-term disability law for individuals with the syndrome will be discussed by attorney Jason Newfield, a partner of Frankel and Newfield in Garden City, N.Y. He devotes his practice to disability insurance claims and litigation.

Board-certified infectious disease specialist Susan Levine will provide an update on research efforts and promising clinical initiatives on CFS and fibromyalgia.

The syndrome, also known as ME, is characterized by extreme, unexplained fatigue that lasts more than 24 hours and is accompanied by impaired memory or concentration, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, headaches, muscle and joint pain, and unrefreshing sleep.

There is no known cure, and treatment is aimed at providing relief of symptoms, according to Monmouth Medical Center.

There is a $45 fee for registrants. To register or for more information, call the NJCFSA Information Help Line at 1-888-835-36777.